Walls for the Winds
by pixelatrix
Summary: Ofelia Hackett, Admiral's daughter, N7 and member of Spec Ops Team Delta, disappeared six years ago. Re-telling of Admiral's Daughter - Follows ME3 storyline with slight AU twist. - Shep/OC, Coats/OC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

**This is…kind of…an alternate telling of The Admiral's Daughter, my story about Ofelia(Fia) Hackett. Some of the background information about Fia remains the same in this one, but it's definitely a different story, so there will be a lot of changes. It's not a prequel or a sequel to Admiral's Daughter. It's a different story all together, just…the same character LOL.**

_**The title is taken from the following Irish Blessing:**_

_**May you always have walls for the winds,  
a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,  
laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,  
and all your heart might desire.  
~Irish Blessing**_

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. lol**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

"Hey Loco, whose the girl?" Vega bent down to get a better look at the frame on Shepard's desk. It held a picture of a young woman with spiky blue hair and piercing blue eyes. She looked slightly familiar.

"Fia. Ofelia Hackett." Shepard leaned back against the desk. "She was my best friend…my fiancé."

"Was?" Vega glanced up from the picture. "Did you say Hackett?"

"Was. She disappeared while on a mission for Team Delta over six years ago. They've never found a trace of her. And yes, I said Hackett." Shepard reached out to pick the photo up.

"Any relation to…"

"His daughter," Shepard sighed and set the frame back down. "Think about the N7 program, Vega. I think you'd be a good addition."

"I will, Commander." Vega took the hint and left him alone in his quarters.

The _Normandy_ was headed to the Caleston Rift to try to find Alex Garneau. Shepard found his gaze pulled back to Fia's photo. Six fucking years, and they still had no idea where or why she had disappeared. She'd been undercover at the time and off the grid which left no damn way to track her movements. It had been almost a year before they even realized that she was missing.

"Commander? We've managed to trace Garneau to Mahavid. It's an asteroid that is home to a mining facility. We believe he's somewhere there." Traynor interrupted his thoughts.

"Thanks, Traynor. Tell Garrus and Vega to meet me at the shuttle." Shepard stepped over to get suited up in his armor.

"Yes, Commander."

There was something really odd going on at the T-GES Mineral Works. _Really odd_. The workers were mindless or indoctrinated. They couldn't get any sense out of them, so they got the elevator working and headed down into the facility. They needed to find Garneau. If the reaper presence was a sign, they were definitely on the right track. They rounded the corner towards the security station near the medical bay and Shepard froze mid-step.

"Shepard?" Garrus stepped around the Commander to see what he was looking at.

"That looks like…" Vega's voice trailed off.

Shepard moved over to the woman with long black hair that was working at a terminal. Her hair was tinged with blue at the tips. "Fia?"

She didn't move.

He tapped her on the shoulder." Fia? Is that you?"

She still didn't look up at him. "You shouldn't be here."

_Oh god. _He glanced down at her left hand to find the engagement ring still there. _It was her._

"Fia, it's Shepard. You're Lieutenant-Commander Ofelia Hackett, an N7 in the Alliance." Shepard tried to get her attention by tapping her again.

She looked up at him then with dead eyes. "Turn back, Commander. You don't belong here."

He grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her towards Vega. "You do not let her go. Do you hear me, Lieutenant? You shoot anyone or anything that tries to come near her. Keep her fucking safe…even from herself."

"Understood, Commander," Vega nodded.

Shepard told himself to focus on finding Garneau. If they found the man, maybe he could help them figure out how to fix her. It turned out to be a little more complex than that. They chased the man through the facility and through reaper forces.

It wasn't until the artifact was destroyed and the workers nearby turned back to normal that Shepard let himself hope. He had Traynor contact Fifth Fleet to coordinate getting a quarantine set up on the Citadel. It would be the safest place. These people would need help understanding the last ten years that they had lost.

_Fia would need help._

He raced back the way that they had come to find her. She was sitting in a chair chatting with the Lieutenant. Vega appeared to be trying to put off answering her questions. Fia wasn't letting him. He skidded to a halt just inside the room.

"Shep?" Her head snapped in his direction. The life was back in her eyes, and he felt a little weak at the knees with relief. "Is it really you?"

Before he could answer, she launched herself into his arms. He stumbled backwards a little but stayed standing. He wrapped his arms tightly around her. She buried her face against his neck. Vega made a discrete exit to give them a little privacy. Shepard took a few careful steps towards the nearby seats and sat with her still wrapped around him.

"He said it's been six years?" Her voice was muffled slightly, and he felt her lips moving against his neck.

"Six for you. Ten for the other people here," Shepard nodded.

"Six fucking years." She sounded like she was having trouble wrapping her mind around the idea. "Six. Oh my god, dad. He's going to be so pissed."

"I think relieved is a more appropriate word." Shepard would find a way to break the news to the Admiral once he was certain that Fia was checked out by Doctor Chakwas.

"I…" She pulled back a little to get a better look at him. She reached out a finger to touch his cheek. "Where'd your scar go?"

_Shit._

"That is a very long story that will have to wait for another day. You've missed…a lot." Shepard didn't want to get into his death or Cerberus yet. He just wanted to enjoy her for a little while longer.

"A lot?" She frowned at him. "Did you…six years is a long time…have you…"

"Did I what?"

"Move on." The words were spoken so softly that he almost missed them.

He lifted her chin with his fingers so that she was looking him in the eyes. "Not a chance in hell."

"I would understand if you had."

"Liar." He chuckled before kissing her gently on the lips. "Like I could forget you?"

"Good point."

"Commander?" Vega stepped back into the room. "There's an Alliance vessel with doctors arriving to take everyone to quarantine on the Citadel."

Fia's arms tightened around him. "I'm not …"

"We'll take Fia to the Citadel ourselves. I need to head back over to Doctor Bryson's lab again anyway." Shepard had no intention of letting her out of his sight.

"I'll tell Cortez to get ready then." Vega headed back out again.

Once they were back on the _Normandy_, Shepard left Fia to be checked out by the doctor and Liara. He headed up to the War Room to contact the Admiral. He paced in front of the comm waiting for his hail to be answered.

"Commander Shepard?"

He took a deep breath and turned his attention towards Hackett. "We're still trying to trace Leviathan."

"Yes, I read your report about the mining facility. Ten years is a long time to lose. Those workers are in for a long road of recovery in quarantine." Hackett looked at him impatiently. "Was there something else, Shepard?"

"I…" He couldn't just tell him over the fucking Vid-comm. "How quickly can you head to the Citadel, Sir?"

"Now is not convenient."

"I need you to make it convenient." Shepard ignored the flash of anger he saw on the man's face. "It's important, Admiral."

"It better be. I can be there in a few hours." Hackett did not sound pleased. "Hackett out."

Shepard stared at the blank comm for a while. Six years was a long time, not as long as ten, but still. A quiet cough interrupted his worried thoughts. He turned to find Liara waiting. He followed her out of the room.

"How is she?"

"Physically? She appears to be perfectly fine. We found no physical damage from her indoctrination. It's going to take a while for her to process all of the things that have happened over the last six years, Shepard." Liara led him to the CIC and into the elevator.

He hit the button for the crew deck. "But she's ok?"

"Yes, Shepard, I believe that she will be ok. You will have to be patient with her while she tries to catch up with current events," Liara cautioned while they walked to the Med Bay.

"I've been patient for six years. I think I understand the concept." Shepard felt like he had all the damn time in the world. She was alive. _Alive_. The rest was all irrelevant to him.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

"Why am I here, Commander?" Admiral Hackett stepped out of the airlock in a bad mood.

He had the Crucible to build and a war that he was losing on Earth. He did not have time for excursions to the Citadel. Shepard didn't bother to answer, just started walking away from the dock towards a waiting skycar. Hackett stopped beside the vehicle.

"Just…trust me, sir." Shepard got inside the cab.

"Shepard, I want a damn answer." He glared down at the man.

"You'll thank me later." Shepard was clearly not going to give him any further information.

Hackett sighed but finally took the seat next to the Commander. "I am seriously re-considering your reinstatement."

"Join the club." Shepard chuckled.

"Where the hell are we going?" Hackett asked.

Shepard ignored his question and a few minutes later, parked on a private landing pad outside what looked like a hospital ward.

"Shepard? What is this?" Hackett glanced around in confusion.

"It's a private ward set up by Huerta for the people that we found at the T-GES Mineral Works." Shepard started towards the nearby doors. "There's someone who I want you to meet."

Hackett frowned at the Commander's retreating back but had no choice but to follow him. They stepped into the building and down a hallway towards a small living area. Shepard pointed in the general direction of the room.

"What the…" Hackett glanced around the room not seeing whatever it was the Commander wanted him to. "Who the hell am I looking for Commander?"

"She's over there in the far corner of the room." Shepard moved away to speak with one of the nearby doctors. "I'll be back."

Hackett turned his attention back to the people milling about. Most of them were engaged in conversation with at least one or two of the other patients, except for one woman who was sitting at a terminal in the corner. The shade of her spiky blue hair caught his eye. He was about to step over to the Commander when the woman turned her head slightly and his breath caught in his throat.

_Ofelia._

He glanced over his shoulder to find Shepard watching him carefully. The Commander answered the question in his eyes with a single nod.

"We found her with the miners. Her undercover mission must have taken her there at some point." Shepard moved back beside him. "She doesn't know that I've told you yet. You'll be pleased to know that the first thing that she wanted was a damn haircut."

Hackett shook his head with a laugh. "If you ever have children, Commander, resist the urge to tell them that they can argue until they are blue in the face. They have an annoying tendency to take parents literally."

"Go see your daughter, Sir." Shepard was pulled away again by the doctor.

Hackett moved through the room quickly. He peered over her shoulder at the terminal. She was going through ANN articles, trying to catch up on the last six years. That sounded like Fia. Sitting around and waiting for the doctors to provide information wasn't something that his daughter would do well.

"Do you mind? You're blocking the light." She muttered without looking at him.

"I do mind." He watched her entire body go still.

"Dad?" She swiveled around in the chair slowly. "So uhm, surprise?"

"Nice hair." He touched his hand to the blue spikes.

"You wouldn't have recognized me without it." She was biting at the corner of her mouth, a sure sign that she was either lying or worried. "Shepard tells me that it's been six years. The last thing that I remember before I went to that damn mining facility was that I was in the middle of trying to write you an apology."

"Apology?" Hackett couldn't even remember what the hell that they had argued about.

Fia might look like the spitting image of her mother but she had his temperament. And when they disagreed it was like to bulls locking horns. He thought for a moment and then remembered. Shepard had proposed to her the night before she had started the six month undercover mission.

The Commander hadn't bothered to ask for permission. He was a good man, but she had been too damn young to get married. But then Fia had gone missing, presumed dead and he couldn't remember why he'd been so against it in the first place. He decided to do what he should have done the minute he walked into the room. He reached down and pulled his daughter into a hug.

"No apologies required." He whispered into her hair. "I love you, kid."

"Is now a good time to bring up all the things that you don't know that will piss you off?" She leaned her forehead against his chest. "Love you too, Dad."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

"Dad, seriously, you can't just leave me in quarantine. I'll go crazy." She'd been arguing with him for the last hour. Shepard had already left to head back to the Normandy. Hackett was her last chance to get the hell out of the hospital ward.

"Not until you're medically cleared." Hackett shook his head. "You can dye your whole body blue; I'm not changing my mind. You're staying here until the doctors say it's safe."

She glared at him when he kissed her on the forehead and headed outside to a waiting cab.

Like hell was she staying in quarantine.

It took her less than a day after the two men had left to get a hold of one of the visitor's omni-tools. Shepard had told her that the Normandy was heading to help out some Cerberus scientists. Her research on the extranet had filled her in on Cerberus and Shepard's history with them. She tried not to think too hard about the fact that he'd died while she was missing. She focused on the fact that he was alive.

_Bored. Bored. BORED.  
_

_She was fucking bored._

Her father should have known better than to ignore her when she said she felt bored. Boredom and Fia were not comfortable bed partners. She _borrowed_ one of the doctors' uniforms along with their ID and security badge. She used it to sneak out of quarantine and on to the first ship she could find that was heading to the Crucible. The _Normandy_ wouldn't be docking on the Citadel for a while so she had to opt for visiting Hackett.

One of the skills that had served her well in special operations was an ability to blend into a crowd; she used that to her advantage on the ship. She reached the _hidden_ research facility where the Crucible was being built several hours later. With a set of _borrowed_ fatigues, Fia used the omni-tool to guide her to Admiral Hackett's office. He was mid-conversation with Shepard via vid-comm when she entered.

She waved at Shepard when he caught sight of her. He shook his head and laughed.

"Something amusing you, Commander?" Hackett's back was turned to her so he hadn't realized that she was there yet.

"You have a visitor, Admiral." Shepard was having trouble controlling his laughter. "I'm sure that we'll have plenty to discuss later."

Hackett finally turned around and caught sight of Fia sitting on his desk swinging her legs back and forth. "How in the hell…"

"I believe I mentioned that I was bored. Next time, you should listen to me," she shrugged.

"Bored? Bored?" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Quarantine is necessary."

"Why?"

"You were indoctrinated for six damn years. We have to make sure that you…" Hackett stopped speaking.

"That what?" She frowned at him.

"That Leviathan can't destroy your mind. He killed at least one person just via the connection to their mind. Do you know what that would do to me to get you back just to watch you die slowly and painfully? And I wouldn't be able to do a damn thing to stop it. No one could." His hand fell away from his face.

"Shit." Her shoulders slumped. She clearly hadn't done enough research on indoctrination. "I know there's a war. But all the people in quarantine are strangers. I miss you."

"You miss Shepard." He gave her a shrewd look.

"Dad."

"No." He crossed his arms. "You're going back to quarantine."

"Dad." She widened her eyes a little and smiled sadly at him. "I love you."

"Ofelia, when was the last time that worked?" He shook his head with a laugh.

"Six years ago?" Fia had learned very early that fighting dirty was the only way to win an argument with the Admiral. She always went for the jugular. "Though, it didn't work then, did it? You yelled at me, and threatened to send Shepard off on assignment to the ass end of the galaxy."

"You will stay in quarantine until the doctor clears you." His eyes hardened a little. She knew that look well. He was steeling himself against caving in.

"I'm going to stay with mom." She crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Excuse me? With who?"

"My mother. You might remember her, you slept with her once." Fia rolled her eyes at him. "Though you never mention her ever."

"How the hell do you know Patricia?" He came closer.

"I've been messaging her since I was ten, Dad. Seriously, I can find anything on the extranet." Fia ignored the anger in his eyes. "What's the harm? She's my mother, I was curious. I sent her a message yesterday. She said I could stay with her."

"Hell no."

"Technically, Admiral, I'm no longer in the Alliance. I was declared dead. So you can't tell me where to go." She pointed out. She was not fucking staying in quarantine for another minute. "Staying with mom is like quarantine."

"No."

"Why not? Give me reason that I can understand." She changed tactics to try to reason with him.

"I am not talking about your mother." He stepped over to the door to ask his yeoman to find out what ship was heading for the Citadel next.

"I am not going back to quarantine, Dad. I'll just break out again." And she would too.

"Ofelia, please." He gave her an exhausted look. "For once in your life, don't argue everything to death."

"Me?" She burst out laughing. "The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, does it, Admiral? At least tell me why you never talk about mom."

He shook his head and reached out to pull her into a hug. "I don't know what Patricia has told you, kid. But trust me; she lies so much that I doubt she knows what the truth is anymore."

Fia leaned back to look up at him. "What do you mean she lies?"

"Why can't you ever just take what I say at face value?" He sighed.

"Because I'm your daughter," she laughed again. "Seriously though, what lies are you talking about?"

"I think it would be best to keep the image of that you have of her in your head. You wouldn't thank me for answering that question." He pushed her back a little.

"I'll find out one way or another." She remarked before he gently guided her out of his office towards his quarters in the facility. "Where are we going?"

"You are going to take it easy in my rooms until I can get you back to the Citadel." He gave her a quelling look. "And I am getting back to work."

She decided not to argue with him. The minute that he left her alone in his living room, she pulled up her omni-tool. There was one person that she knew could answer her questions about what happened between her parents.

* * *

_From: Fia Hackett_

_To: Admiral Hannah Shepard_

_Subj: Question. _

_Hi,_

_I'm sure Shepard told you that rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated. _

_I need to ask you something, it's personal and I'd prefer it remained between the two of us._

_My mother has been contacting me…well before I disappeared. And she has a very different version of events than Dad. And he won't talk about it. He just says that she's a liar._

_Can you tell me anything about what happened back then? Please?_

_Fia_

* * *

_From: Hannah Shepard_

_To: Fia Hackett_

_Subj: re: Question._

_I've told the Admiral that he should tell you about Patricia, but…he's a stubborn old fool. _

_You were two years old when Patricia abandoned you. He didn't even know about you at that point. I've never seen him angrier than he was when she left you without a thought, or happier to have a child in his life. _

_We offered to help raise you, but up until you started school, he wouldn't take us up on the offer. After Shepard proposed, I have a feeling that he regretted letting you go at all._

_Patricia became involved with a heavily religious man after you were born. About a year after you were born, you were accidentally exposed to Element Zero. Her new man had her convinced that all biotics were freaks, so she was terrified that you'd develop abilities. She decided that she didn't want anything more to do with you._

_A word of warning to you, dear, Patricia was a manipulative woman and I doubt that has changed. If she's contacted you, there's an ulterior motive even if you can see it._

_Don't be a stranger._

_Hannah_

* * *

Fia paced the room for a few minutes. _The fucking bitch._ She'd been so…motherly in her messages. Fia trusted Shepard's mom, she wouldn't lie about something like this. But why hadn't her dad ever told her? She wasn't leaving until he gave her the answers she was looking for. She sent a follow up email to Hannah and one to her _mother_ and then waited for the Admiral to return.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

Her mother tried to vid-chat with her, but Fia wasn't interested. The series of messages that followed were…revealing. She didn't know what Patricia had hoped to achieve by messaging her all these years, but apparently having her past behavior brought up didn't do much for her attitude. Her tone became increasingly accusatory and aggressive. Fia finally just blocked the woman. The emails from Shepard's mom were much more enlightening.

Three hours had passed with no sign of _Admiral too-fucking-busy Hackett._ She decided to take matters into her own hands. He was already pissed off; it wasn't like he could get _more_ pissed. He wasn't in his office when she got there. And his yeoman didn't appear overly eager to give her any information on where he was.

She finally found him in the middle of a conversation with a few of the scientists. She knew the moment that he saw her. The slight tightening around his eyes and mouth where always a sign that she was about to be in trouble.

_Whatever._

Fia leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor to wait for his meeting to be over. She played with her biotics while she waited. The trashcan across the room was hovering near the ceiling when he finally stood in front of her. She lowered it slowly back to the ground before taking the hand he offered and getting to her feet.

"This is _not_ my quarters." His hand wrapped around her arm. "I believe I was fairly specific."

"I wanted to talk to you." She tapped her finger on his hand. "Ease up, that hurts."

"You were…"

She didn't feel like letting him yell at her so she beat him to the punch. "Were you ever going to tell me that my mother abandoned me because she didn't want a freak for a child?"

He stopped in the middle of hallway to face her. "Who told you?"

"It doesn't matter. Why didn't _you _tell me?" She pressed him for an answer.

"If you didn't know the truth, you could dream about what she would've been like…the relationship you could've had. The truth would've hurt you." He let go of her arm and started to walk away.

"Dad." Fia prayed for patience and jogged to catch up with him. "I don't understand why you would let me be pissed off at you all these years for keeping me away from her. Why didn't you just tell me the truth?"

"I didn't want you to feel like there was anything wrong with you." He didn't stop walking, and she had to lengthen her stride to keep up with him. "I wanted you to feel proud of the things that you could do with biotics. Because I was. There was no way in fucking hell I was letting Patricia poison your self-confidence with her stupidity. You weren't a freak or a demon or something unnatural. You were amazing."

It was Fia who stopped in the middle of the hallway this time. She had to blink for a few moments until she could see through the tears that had rushed to her eyes. Of all the reasons that she'd considered, that had not be one of them. He must have realized that she'd stopped keeping pace because a moment later her dad was pulling her into a hug.

"So…I'm not going to stay with Patricia." Fia stated the obvious when he let her go.

"No."

"I can't stay in quarantine any longer, please, I'm losing my mind." She let him wrap an arm around her shoulder and guide her back to his office.

"I know."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You know?"

"If I send you back, you're just going to keep breaking out. And unless I let them lock you up in the brig or psych ward, there's nothing that I can say to keep you there." Hackett ignored her amused smile.

"So?"

"You can stay on the _Normandy_ on three conditions." He raised a warning hand when she started to get excited. "First condition, you are not released to active duty, so don't even think about picking up a weapon. Second condition, you are not to leave the ship alone. Third condition, you follow the doctor's orders."

"Agreed."

He frowned at her.

"What? I agreed with you." She grinned at him.

"Ofelia."

"Do you want me to pinky-swear?" She held up her little finger.

He rubbed his forehead and sighed…loudly. "The _Normandy_ is docking in an hour. I took the liberty of having my yeoman pack supplies for you, clothes, necessities, and an omni-tool that wasn't stolen."

"So that's a no to the pinky-swear?" She wiggled her finger.

Three hours later, Fia was sitting on Shepard's couch watching his fish float around. Shep was on his back with his head in her lap. He'd taken her on a tour of the ship, but she really hadn't been interested in anything other than the familiar hand holding hers.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

Fia was supposed to be meeting Shepard at his new apartment on the Citadel with Traynor. But they'd gotten delayed. Traynor had one more damn test to observe. Fia relaxed on the couch in the Commander's quarters when the door opened and he stepped in. He was wearing armor that she'd never seen before and followed by several soldiers that were also in strange armor. They looked more like mercs than Alliance marines.

She watched in silence as tossed the hamster crate and ship models onto a wheeled cart. The soldiers took the cart away. Shepard turned and caught sight of her. The frown on his face told her that something was seriously wrong.

"Ofelia." His voice was…jarringly wrong. The weapon on his hip was also wrong; she'd never seen one like it.

_He never called her Ofelia, almost never, only when he was really pissed off._

"Shepard?"

"Why aren't you at the apartment?" He walked towards her.

"You told me to wait for Traynor." She frowned up at him.

"Traynor just left. You should leave." Shepard grabbed her by the arm and yanked her up off the couch.

"What the hell is your problem?" She tried to pull away from him without success. "Seriously, Shep? What the fuck?"

"Ah, there you are, Commander."

Shepard shoved Fia against the wall and the woman who had just entered his quarters plastered herself all over him.

_The fucking bastard._

"What the fuck are you doing?" Fia started off the wall only to be shoved back. Her biotics flared for a moment and his hand fell away from her. "Do not fucking touch me again."

She didn't wait for a response from the Commander. She stepped into the elevator and slammed her hand on button for the second deck. She ducked past the soldiers milling about and headed out of the airlock. Fia pulled up her omni-tool once she was out of the airlock to find the next ship heading anywhere close to the Crucible. The next transport wasn't leaving for another ten hours.

_Fuck._

She decided to send her dad a quick message. He responded relatively quickly with the welcome news that she could wait at one of the other Alliance docks; he'd have a transport pick her up in two hours. He also agreed to honor her request to _not_ speak to Shepard. She'd have to explain once she was there, but it wasn't a conversation she wanted to have via omni-tool.

Traynor stepped out of the airlock a moment later fuming about her toothbrush. Fia raised her eyebrow at the woman but decided it was time to get as far away from the _Normandy _as possible. She started to walk away and ended up walking right into Shepard who had Vega and EDI with him. She was not in the mood to deal with him again, so she immediately tried to duck around him.

"Fia?" Shepard stepped in front of her.

"Get away from me, asshole." She held her hand up in warning. She glanced down at the ring on her finger. _Bastard._ She yanked the ring off and threw it at him. "Stay the fuck away from me."

"Let me explain. You don't understand." He started to reach out for her but she slammed him with a biotic throw that sent him flying into Vega.

"I am not interested in whatever it is that you have to say." She stormed away before either of them could get to their feet.

Fia paced anxiously waiting for the damn transport to arrive. It was just pulling in to the dock when Shepard showed up. _Damn it_. He raced over to step between her and the airlock entrance.

"Move." She glared at him.

"Not until you hear me out." Shepard placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Please, Fia, the man on the _Normandy..."_

"Is someone that I never want to see again." Fia finished for him. "Now remove your fucking hand, now."

"What the hell did..."

"Commander Shepard." A very large Marine stepped out of the airlock to tap Shep on the shoulder. "Admiral Hackett has asked me to escort his daughter safely to the Crucible. Please release her and move out of the way."

"Fia?"

She ignored the plea in his eyes and stepped around him into the airlock. The Marine followed her on the ship and led her to private room that the Captain of the vessel had assigned to her for the short jump. Shepard sent at least ten messages not to mention several vid-comm requests that Fia chose to ignore and delete. It was three hours before she finally trudged out yet another airlock to find her very concerned father waiting for her. He grabbed her arms gently but immediately let go when she grunted with pain. He pulled up one of her sleeves to see the bruising on her arms from where Shepard had grabbed her.

"I don't want to talk about it." She dragged her sleeve back down.

Hackett frowned at her. "Where's your engagement ring?"

"Lodged in Shepard's skull, I hope." She bit her lip to keep angry tears at bay. Crying would just be insult to injury on a shitty day.

"Fia?" He tilted her head and caught sight of the tears. "Tell me what happened."

"I don't want to talk about it." She started to walk away but he pulled her into a hug instead. The hug was her undoing and the tears immediately flowed.

"Please talk to me, kid." He waited until she'd stopped crying to lead her gently to his quarters.

Once inside, he set her down on the couch and sat on the edge of the coffee table in front of her. It didn't take long before the whole story was out. She didn't have to look into her dad's face to know that he was furious. She was about to ask about getting her stuff from the _Normandy_ when the door opened and Shepard stepped inside with EDI close behind.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Commander." Her dad stood up and stepped in front of Fia.

Shepard pointed back to EDI. "If you'd just give me a fucking minute, I can explain everything."

Fia thought her calm father who never lost control was about to make her listen to Shepard. She was wrong. Hackett slammed his fist into the Commander's jaw. He followed him to the floor and pressed his knee against the Commander's throat.

"I believe you made me a promise when I finally agreed to give my blessing to your engagement." Her dad ignored Shepard's attempts to speak. "You left bruises on my daughter's arms, give me a goddamn reason that I shouldn't break your damn neck."

"Perhaps I can be of assistance?" EDI pulled up a vid to play for them. It showed Shepard arguing with someone who looked like his fucking twin. Fia stared in amazement as the second Shepard explained about Cerberus creating a clone. _Shit. _"The Commander had a clone. I believe that your daughter may have met the clone."

Her dad frowned at Shepard for a moment before finally helping him up off the floor. "My apologies, Commander."

Shepard waved away the apology. "Can I have a moment with Fia _alone_ please?"

Hackett glanced at her first and when she nodded, he followed EDI out of the room. Fia stared down at her hands and wished for a fucking time machine. Shepard sat on the coffee table in almost the exact same spot that her dad had been and reached out to take her hands in his.

"What happened on the _Normandy?_" Shepard asked.

"You…well…your clone was there and he grabbed me, shoved me up against the wall and was practically screwing this other woman in front of me." Fia couldn't look him in the eyes.

"Grabbed you?" Shepard's hands moved from hers to lift up her sleeves one at a time. His finger lightly brushed against the bruises. "Bastard."

"Yes." She finally looked up at him. "I'm sorry I didn't give you a chance to explain."

He shifted forward until their knees were touching and leaned over to kiss her gently on the lips. "I'm just glad that it was just bruises."

"Hang on a second, when did my dad give you permission to marry me?" Fia suddenly remembered something Hackett had said. "The last I knew, he'd been furious and refused.

"I asked him a few days ago." Shepard shrugged before reaching into his pocket to pull out the ring. "So can I put this back where it belongs?"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

Fia sat at the terminal in Shepard's quarters. She was once again reading through article after article on the extra-net. She didn't think that she'd ever fully catch up with what had happened over the last six years. Shep was busy helping the quarians deal with the geth. Fia stood and paced in front of the terminal for a while. She'd found something that confused her while looking through some files stored on the _Normandy _system. She needed some answers…answers that ANN couldn't provide.

* * *

_Inter-Relay Text Chat:_

_Location: Rannoch_

_From: F.H._

_To: S.H._

_13:17 FH: Dad?_

_13:26 SH: Hey kid._

_13:28 FH: Can I ask you something?_

_13:29 SH: Of course._

_13:34 SH: Ofelia?_

_13:39 FH: Doc said I'm medically cleared._

_13:41 SH: I saw the report. That's not really a question though._

_13:46 FH: Assign me to the Crucible? Please? Whenever you get around to reinstating me._

_13:49 SH: I thought you'd want to be assigned to the Normandy._

_13:51 FH: Not so much._

_13:53 SH: Are you sure about this, kid?_

_13:54 FH: No, but do it anyway._

_13:56 SH: Did something happen?_

_13:58 FH: Not exactly._

_13:59 SH: Fine. Expect orders within the next week._

_14:01 FH: Tomorrow would be better._

_14:04 SH: When you get here, we are going to have a very long talk._

_14:05 FH: Yes sir._

_14:08 SH: A father to daughter talk, kid, not an admiral to lieutenant talk._

_14:09 FH: Shit._

_14:10 FH: Gotta go. Love you, dad._

_14:11 SH: Love you too, kid._

_14:12 User has disconnected._

_._

* * *

It was well into the evening when Shepard stepped into the room. Fia glanced up from the article that she was reading on her omni-tool. He looked exhausted…and pissed off. He sat beside her on the couch.

"I hear you want to be assigned to the Crucible." He tossed a datapad on the coffee table. "The Crucible…"

"Yes." She closed her omni-tool.

"Yes?"

"Who is Miranda Lawson?" Fia chose to ignore his question and ask one of her own.

"What?" He looked at her in confusion.

"When I asked you if you'd moved on with someone, you said no." Fia watched him carefully. "Yet, I found security footage in Joker's files of you _clearly_ moving on."

"I…"

"I was gone…you thought I was dead. It's not that you found someone. It's that you fucking lied to me." She glanced down at her engagement ring. "It feels like five minutes for me, but I forget that it was six years for you."

"It doesn't matter. My feelings haven't changed." Shepard crouched in front of her to take her hands.

"I think you need to focus on the war. I think you need time to decide if you really want to be engaged to someone that you thought was dead for six years." She touched the ring on her finger. She started to pull it off but Shep's fingers stopped her.

"Fia…I already told you…" He tried to keep her from taking it off.

"You lied to me." She pulled her hands out of his grasp.

"I just forgot about it. Honestly, Fia, it was a one-time thing that never happened again." Shepard refused to take the ring from her.

Fia set it on the coffee table. She grabbed the bag that she'd packed earlier and headed for the door. "I'll wait in the lounge until we get to the Crucible."

"We aren't going to the Crucible." Shepard picked up the datapad again. "Your orders aren't for the Crucible. That's what I was trying to tell you a moment ago."

"The fuck?"

"I asked your dad to give us a week to figure things out, he said yes." He handed the datapad to her. "We're heading to the Citadel to take real shore-leave. I think we need some time to reconnect."

"I'll be in the lounge until we get to the Citadel." She took her back with her anyway. She waited until she got down there to message her dad.

* * *

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: Rannoch_

_From: F.H._

_To: S.H._

_22:03 FH: What happened to my reinstatement?_

_22:10 SH: Give it a week._

_22:12 FH: No._

_22:13 SH: If you still feel the same way at the end of the week, I'll reconsider. But your orders aren't an excuse to avoid personal issues._

_22:14 FH: Thanks, that's really helpful, Admiral._

_22:15 SH: Ofelia._

_22:17 FH: Nice to know that you have my back, dad._

_22:19 SH: It's not that simple._

_22:21 FH: Well, I know where you stand…and where he stands. I'll just respond accordingly._

_22:23 SH: What the hell is that supposed to mean?_

_22:24 User has disconnected._

* * *

The minute the _Normandy_ docked on the Citadel, Fia was in the wind. She spent a little time re-fitting herself with armor and weapons, and hopped on a transport that was heading to Earth…London to be specific. She'd been in contact with her old squad, who were on the front lines and in desperate need of biotics and snipers. She was just what they needed. She waited until the ship had made the jump out of the Widow system to send a message to her dad.

* * *

_From: Lieutenant Hackett_

_To: Admiral Hackett_

_Subj: Orders._

_Since technically, I haven't been reinstated, I don't have to obey your fucking orders._

_Stay safe, Admiral._

_Fia_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever. **

"Welcome to the madhouse, Lieutenant." Major Atwell shook her hand. "Does your father know?"

"He will eventually." Fia grinned at the disapproval on her old squad leader's face. "Where do you need me?"

"The main gate, we're having trouble getting shielding up at the moment. You're a damn good shot and your biotics will come in handy." He pointed towards an area fifty years away.

She offered him a grin and a salute before racing off in the direction he had pointed. It took her ten minutes to climb up the façade of the buildings to get to the roof of one of the buildings. Unlike on the _Normandy _or the Crucible, at least here, on Earth, Fia could make a fucking difference.

She noticed a soldier below getting overwhelmed by husks. She slid down one of the walls to get closer. A quick biotic shield kept him safe while she fired off three rapid-fire shots followed by another three. She crouched down beside the man to apply medi-gel to the wound on his neck.

"The last time someone saved my ass, it was a burly marine named Stan. My prospects are starting to look up." A mischievous pair of green eyes met hers. He winked at her. "Major Coats at your service."

"Fia…" She didn't really want to advertise her last name.

"Lieutenant Hackett, get your ass back up here and bring the Major with you." Major Atwell's voice boomed down to them.

_Fuck_.

"Hackett?" The handsome man on the ground looked at her with interest.

"Lieutenant Ofelia Hackett." She offered him a mock salute. "Major."

"Any relation?"

"He's my father." Fia stood and helped him up.

"Well come on mini-Hackett, let's get back behind the wall." He nudged her with his elbow and began to scale the nearby wall.

_Mini-Hackett? _

_Fucker._

_Fucker with a hot ass._

"Stop staring at my ass." He smirked at her over his shoulder.

Fia rolled her eyes and followed him. He reached down to grab her arm and yank her up on top of the wall. They headed down to find Major Atwell mid-conversation with another man. As they walked up, Fia immediately recognized Admiral Anderson.

The Admiral's eyes looked up from the plans on the table to meet hers. "Lieutenant. I've got someone waiting on the Vid-Comm who is very anxious to speak with you."

_Shit._

"Yes, sir."

"Major Coats, perhaps you could escort her over to the comm terminal." Anderson stared pointedly at them until they left the two men to talk.

Coats led her across to a small office where a vid-comm terminal was set up. "You don't look excited."

"There's going to be a fair amount of yelling." She glanced at the Comm Specialist then back at the Major.

"I'll wait outside for you. You'll want a tour of the _sights_." He winked at her and stepped out of the room.

"Who can I connect you with?" The Comm Specialist asked.

"Admiral Hackett and perhaps you could give me a little privacy?" She waited for the man to leave before turning back to wait for the connection to go through.

"What the _hell_ were you thinking?" Her dad sounded and looked completely furious.

"Hi, Dad."

"Hi? _Hi!_ Are you kidding me?" He was definitely furious. "The next fucking time that you have a bright idea like heading to the front lines of a war against the reapers, you call me _first."_

"Wow, you said fuck. The last time you said fuck…wait, I can't remember you ever saying fuck." Fia grinned at him.

"This is _not_ funny, Ofelia." Hackett's voice echoed in the small room.

"I knew you were going to yell," she sighed.

"My only daughter just sent herself to the front lines of a war that is causing the deaths of millions very damn day. I had to deal with your death once already. Do not do that to me again, Ofelia." He turned away from the comm for a moment. "How the hell can I keep you safe down there?"

"I'll be…"

"Do not say you'll be fine. You don't know what the reapers are capable of. You've been out of it for six years. They have no mercy, they have no soul. They're mindless killers." He cut her off. "You should've talked to me."

"You know what, I _did _fucking talk to you. And you listened to Shepard instead of your own daughter. Did he tell you that the reason that I wanted to get away from him was that I found a vid of him sleeping with another woman and he lied to me about it? Did he tell you that, dad? Hmm? So don't fucking tell me that I should've talked to you first. Because I did." Fia lost control of her temper. "You know what, dad? I think this conversation is over. Hackett fucking out."

After disconnecting the connection, Fia stormed out of the building and straight into Major Coats. It was like hitting a wall…a hot wall. She rubbed her nose since it'd gone straight into his armor. _Ow._

"So…have a good chat, mini-Hackett?" He followed her as she continued her angry march to nowhere really.

"Mini-Hackett?"

"I've met the Admiral before. You did not get his height. You're like a pocket version of him." He grinned down at her.

"That's…twisted." She shook her head and laughed. The tension in her chest eased almost immediately. "Amusing, but twisted."

"Was there yelling?" He asked.

"Oh yea." She ran a hand through her hair. "Lots of it."

"Well, welcome to the…" The Major started to guide her around the FOB but suddenly grabbed her and moved her out of the way of an incoming truck that appeared to have lost its brakes. She ended up crushed between the wall and his body. He cleared his throat before backing slowly away. "Sorry about that."

Fia forced herself to remove her hands from the front of his armor. "I think…I should…fuck."

"Come on then, let me give you the grand tour." He winked at her.

It was after 0100 but Fia couldn't sleep in the make-shift barracks, she tip-toed outside and sat on the ground with her back to the wall. Screams echoed through the city, Major Coats had told her that the nights were always like that. It reminded her of Akuze. She pulled up her omni-tool.

* * *

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: London_

_From: F. Hackett_

_To: S. Hackett_

_01:17 FH: Dad? _

_01:23 SH: Ofelia._

_01:24 FH: Still pissed?_

_01:25 SH: Concerned._

_01:26 FH: Sounded a lot more like pissed the fuck off, than concern._

_01:29 FH: Stop counting to ten._

_01:31 SH: Do you know how many marines we're losing on Earth every day?_

_01:32 FH: A lot. And if I can help save just a few of those with my biotics, then I'm doing more than I would be on the fucking Normandy._

_01:33 SH: How am I supposed to bury you again? I can't…_

_01:34 FH: Dad._

_01:35 SH: Six years. The Commander might have tried to move on as your fiancé. But…I'm your father. There's no moving on for a parent. I just had to deal with remembering that I can't call you on your birthday. That there's no one to wake me up at six am on Christmas morning. No calls at two am from your commanding officer who has been driven to distraction by your inability to avoid trouble._

_01:39 FH: I…_

_01:41 SH: Maybe just this once, you should think about the fact that it might feel like no time has passed for you. But I grieved you for six agonizing years. And now I have to focus on the Crucible and leading the fleets while worrying that you're on Earth, and that I might have to grieve all over again._

_01:42 User has disconnected._

* * *

"That went extraordinarily well." She muttered to herself while brushing a stray tear away. She took a deep breath and pulled up another chat window. Might as well bite the bullet on the other person she needed to talk to.

* * *

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: London_

_From: Fia _

_To: Shep_

_01:48 F: You awake?_

_01:53 S: How's London look?_

_01:55 F: Like hell on Earth._

_01:56 S: Hackett won't let me head to Sol to pick you up._

_01:57 F: Good. It would be a waste of fuel._

_01:58 S: Fia._

_02:01 F: I'm not interested in arguing with you. I've already had a spectacular screaming match with my father. _

_02:02 S: So what are you interested in?_

_02:03 F: I just wanted to tell you that I'm safe. And good luck._

_02:04 User has disconnected._

* * *

Fia rested her head back against the wall and looked up at the sky. She wasn't all that worried about Shepard. But her dad, damn it, she didn't quite know how to make things right with him. A scream echoed from somewhere to the north, it really was like being in that fucking pit with the thresher maw. Her eyes closed and she tried to block the sounds out.

"Trouble sleeping?"

Fia opened her eyes to find herself staring up at Major Coats. "I was remembering another night that I spent listening to terrified screams."

"Tell me about it." He set his back on the wall and slid down to sit beside her. His arm pressed against hers.

"Akuze."

"Akuze? You were…" He glanced over at her.

"The lone survivor." She rolled her eyes. "That's me. Because I really needed another thing to make me stand out. Blue hair, biotics, Admiral of the fucking fleet for a dad, oh and I had to survive the un-survivable."

The Major watched her for a moment before pulling a small silver flask out of a pocket. "Have a nip; it'll do you good, Mini-Hackett."

"I'll pay you a million credits to let my dad hear you call me that." She grinned before taking a sip of what turned out to be scotch.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: London_

_From: F. Hackett_

_To: S. Hackett_

_21:03 FH: Admiral Anderson tells me that you wanted to talk to me._

_21:06 SH: Via vid-comm._

_21:10 FH: You can't yell at me in text…well…it's much quieter in any case._

_21:13 SH: Ofelia. It's been over a week._

_21:15 FH: What do you want, dad? I've got to go out on patrol in a few minutes._

_21:18 SH: I'd rather speak to you via vid._

_21:19 FH: I'd rather not be yelled at by my father when the entire Forward Operating Base can hear you._

_21:20 FH: Seriously, what do you want?_

_21:21 SH: Happy Birthday._

_21:23 FH: Birthday? Shit. I…forgot…thanks, Dad._

_21:24 SH: I haven't been able to say that for six years…I didn't want to miss the opportunity, in case…_

_21:28 FH: Hey, Dad?_

_21:29 SH: Yes?_

_21:31 FH: I'm sorry. And…I love you._

_21:32 User has disconnected._

* * *

"You ok, Mini-Hackett?" Major Coats waited for her by the north gate. They were heading out to patrol one of the nearby quadrants.

"Do you have a name?" She ignored his question. "I mean a first name. I can't just keep calling you, Major."

"Aidan. Major Aidan Anthony Coats." He made a low bow and chuckled when she rolled her eyes at him.

"Aidan." Fia tried it out. She double-checked her rifle before turning back to him. "You ready?"

An hour later, they'd managed to get themselves trapped in what appeared to be an old pub. She was disappointed to find it empty of alcohol. They had thought they'd found a group of survivors. Instead, they'd found fucking husks. They'd killed the husks, then a damn brute had slammed into the building and they were momentarily…unable to leave.

_They were fucking trapped._

"I am _not_ dying on my fucking birthday." Fia shoved at the wall with her shoulder. It failed to budge.

"Your birthday?" Aidan stopped pushing on the wall to look at her.

Fia turned slightly to lean against it with a sigh. "Yep."

He shifted so his head was facing hers. "Patrol is not how you should celebrate your birthday."

"Welcome to the Alliance," Fia chuckled.

"Happy Birthday, Mini-Hackett." Coats moved in a little closer.

"Thanks."

He pulled one of his gauntlets off and grabbed her chin. He winked at her before touching his lips to hers. His tongue briefly teased against her lips before he stepped away from her.

"What the hell?" Fia wasn't sure if she wanted to punch the fucker or kiss him again.

'I just wanted a little taste." Coats put his gauntlet back on and turned his attention back to the wall. "I have an idea."

Fia never did hear his great idea. The brute slammed into it and break them free. They weren't trapped but now they had a fucking brute to deal with. The beast caught Aidan in the chest. She blasted the damn thing with a shockwave to knock it on its ass before unloading an entire clip into it until it was dead.

"What should we do for a second date?" Major Coats dragged himself up off the floor.

"We should get back to the FOB. We're a little overdue." Fia nudged the brute with her foot to make sure it was dead before hopping over it to head back to the base.

"Get a little lost?" Admiral Anderson was waiting for them when they got back.

"There's one less brute in the world." Fia ducked around the Admiral to head towards the barrack. She needed a shower and a little space from Major Coats.

"Lieutenant."

She stopped a few steps away and spun around on her heel. "Sir?"

"Could you give us a moment, please?" Anderson dismissed the Major then motioned for Fia to follow him.

"Admiral?" Fia frowned when she realized that he was leading her towards the comm terminal.

"You've got…"

"I already talked to Admiral Hackett." Fia briefly considered heading to the barracks anyway but Anderson placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her into the building.

"It's not from your father." Anderson nodded to the Comm Specialist who set up a connection then both men left the room.

Fia frowned back at them then turned towards the Comm to find Shepard. _Shit. "_Commander."

"Commander?" He raised an eyebrow. "Are we seriously using each other's ranks now?"

"It's been a long night, Shep. What is it?" She wasn't in the mood to deal with the conflicting emotions that revolved around Shepard. And she really didn't want to think about the kiss that had happened earlier.

"Happy Birthday."

"Thanks." She rolled her shoulders a little. They were still from trying to get the damn wall to move. "I should…"

"I haven't changed my mind, Fia." Shepard stopped her before she could say anything else. "Miranda wasn't…"

Fia held up her hand. "Not interested in hearing anything further about her, Shepard."

"So what? Is that it?" Shepard was starting to get aggravated.

"Oh look, there's a husk that I have to go kill." Fia reached out to disconnect the call.

She ignored Anderson's curious gaze when she stepped out of the building. The only thing that Fia wanted was a hot shower. Instead, it was a cold shower, but still effective. She was about to crawl up into her top bunk in the barracks when she noticed something on her pillow. With a little hop, she sat on the edge of the bed and retrieved the small cupcake sitting on her pillow.

_Cupcake?_

_Who the hell found a cupcake in a warzone?_

It appeared to be a chocolate frosted chocolate cake. She'd never turn down chocolate. She was licking the last of the frosting from her fingers when her omni-tool beeped. She almost ignored it expecting to find a message from Shepard.

* * *

_From: Aidan Coats_

_To: Fia Hackett_

_Subj: Happy Birthday. _

_Enjoy the cupcake, Mini-Hackett_

_Aidan_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

The next three weeks passed with a similar routine. She went on patrol. Major Coats flirted with her. Admiral Hackett yelled at her. Commander Shepard tried to talk her into leaving Earth. It was all very exhausting. She chose to ignore all of them and shoot as many husks as possible. She was sitting on one of the roofs within the FOB watching the fires burning in different parts of the city. With an annoyed sigh, she answered the incoming vid-comm request from Shepard.

"The answer is still no." She didn't give him a chance to say anything.

"Fia."

"Mini-Hackett, are you up there?" Aidan's voice drifted up to her.

"Not now, Coats." She yelled down to him.

"Who are you talking to?" Shepard frowned at her.

"Shepard." Fia didn't think an introduction would be helpful. "I'm on a roof on night watch. What can I do for you?"

"You know what I want," Shepard answered.

"I brought coffee." Aidan crouched beside her to hand her a cup. He looked up at the comm screen from her omni-tool where Shepard was glaring at him. "Commander Shepard."

"Do I know you?" Shepard did not sound…friendly.

"Major Coats." Aidan winked at Fia. He squeezed her shoulder with his hand before heading back off the roof. "I'll give you some privacy."

She watched him leave then turned back to Shepard. "Was there anything else, Shep?"

"What. Was. That." He had apparently decided to move directly into yelling.

"Coffee?" She raised her mug.

"Fia."

"I have husks to shoot. Go away. Hackett out." She shut the connection down and sipped on the coffee until the Major came back up.

"So…you and Commander Shepard?" He sat beside her.

"Me and Shepard what?" Fia kept her gaze on the gaze below.

"Sandwich?" He offered her half of what he had before clarifying his question. "Are you together?"

"We were engaged." She bit into the sandwich half.

"And?"

"I was presumed dead for six years. He slept with someone else, and then lied about it." She gulped down hot coffee to wash down the lump in her throat. "The lying was the main problem."

"Six years?"

"Did you hear about the T-GES Mineral Works facility?" She set the cup on the ground.

"Yea. They were all indoctrinated, lost ten years of their lives." Aidan pulled up his scope to check something off in the distance.

"Six years ago, I was working for Team Delta, off the grid, when I went to the facility." She took the scope from him. It looked like a group of husks were trying to breach the perimeter around the FOB. She sent a quick message to the officer on duty.

"Damn, Mini-Hackett." He touched a finger to her knee. "How are you dealing with all of it?"

She glanced over at him. "I think you're the first person to ask that. I'm…adjusting."

"That's a very Hackett answer." He winked at her.

"Are my genes showing?" She flicked his finger away from her knee.

The rest of the night went relatively calmly. Fia was trying to catch up on her sleep the next day when a hand shook her awake. She opened her eyes to find Admiral Anderson.

"Sir?"

"You have a _visitor._" He did _not _look pleased.

"A visitor?" She stumbled out of her bunk, sliding her feet into her boots and grabbing a shirt to pull over the tank-top she was wearing.

"Yes." He led her over to the building that housed his office. "You can use my office for privacy."

Fia frowned at him but he shoved her inside and stormed away. She turned around to find Shepard standing in front of her. "Have you lost your fucking mind?"

"I'm taking you back to the _Normandy_." Shepard made it sound like an order.

"Not interested." Fia left the office to head back to her bed.

Shepard chased her all the way to the door of the barracks. "Fia."

"Get back to your job, Commander." She started to step inside when he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her outside. "I believe Admiral Hackett ordered you to stay away from Earth."

"No. I am not leaving without you. It's not safe here." Shepard started towards a nearby Kodiak with Fia in tow.

She didn't want to have to use her biotics on him. He stopped suddenly and she ran into his back. Leaning to the right, she found Major Coats blocking Shepard's path. _Fucking great._

"Going somewhere, Mini-Hackett?" He winked at her.

"Not if I can help it." Fia glared down at the hand on her arm.

"I think you should head back to your ship, Commander." Aidan took a step closer.

"I'm trying to," Shepard remarked caustically.

"Lieutenant Hackett. Are you willing to leave with the Commander?" Major Coats ignored Shepard.

"No."

"Then Commander, I suggest that you let go of her arm. That's a goddamn order." Aidan crossed his arms and glared at the Commander. He was a couple inches taller than Shepard and not evenly remotely intimated by him.

"Commander, Major." Anderson stepped between the two men. "I think it was time you got back to the _Normandy_, Shepard."

Shepard let go of her arm and without a backward glance stormed into the Kodiak. Fia rubbed her forehead for a moment then spun around to head back to the barracks. _Fucking men. Honestly._ She climbed up into her bunk and collapsed on her back with a sigh. She was staring up at the ceiling when a hand waved in front of her face. She rolled on her side to find Major Coats standing next to the bunk.

"Yes?"

"I'd knock, but there's like thirty bunk beds in here." He waved his arm around the room.

"I've got about ten minutes before I get a message of some sort from Admiral Hackett." Fia didn't think it would take ten minutes really before her dad found out about Shepard's visit. But Shepard would get yelled at first. "Thanks for intervening back there."

"If I let him take you away, who'd steal half my lunch?" Aidan mussed up her hair before heading away when her omni-tool beeped.

She ignored the Vid-Comm hail and sent her dad a chat request instead. He couldn't wake the whole barracks up via text.

* * *

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: Earth_

_From: F. Hackett_

_To: S. Hackett_

_10:45 FH: Hi._

_10:48 SH: Answer your Vid._

_10:49 FH: I'm in the barracks. You can yell at me in written form, it's less embarrassing. _

_10:51 SH: This is not High School, Ofelia. Could you try to keep the relationship drama to a minimum?_

_10:53 FH: The fuck? Seriously? I told Shepard I wasn't going to the Normandy. I've been telling him that for three fucking weeks. It is NOT my fault that he chose to ignore YOUR direct order to HIM._

_10:54 FH: And by the way, I'm getting REALLY tired of you yelling at me over shit. If that's all you're planning on doing until the war is over, then maybe I'll just stop accepting your hails. _

_10:55 SH: Are you finished?_

_10:56 FH: I don't know. Maybe. No, I'm not. And one other thing, thanks for asking how I'm doing with you know…being in a warzone…and ending my engagement…oh yea and coming back from being gone for six years. _

_10:57 User has disconnected._

* * *

"Fuck." Fia smacked herself in the forehead. _Not the best conversation with her father ever._


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: London_

_From: Aidan_

_To: Fia_

_01:17 A: Any husks on your side of the FOB?_

_01:21 F: You're supposed to be on watch._

_01:22 A: I am. Any husks?_

_01:23 F: No._

_01:25 A: it's your turn to get coffee._

_01:27 F: I'm a little busy…you know…on watch._

_01:29 A: Excuses, excuses._

_01:31 F: Goodbye._

_01:32 User has disconnected._

* * *

Fia shook her head with a laugh. She always seemed to be on the same schedule as Major Coats. The fucker probably planned it that way. She grabbed a nearby solider and had him take up her post so she could take a break. She needed to stretch her legs anyway. It had nothing to do with the flirty fucker with green eyes.

With two coffees in hand, she trekked up to find Aidan, she handed him the coffee and turned to start back down the stairs. He grabbed the pocket of her cargo pants and pulled her down beside him. Fia sipped her coffee and carefully avoided the green eyes.

"How long have you known the Commander?" His leg bumped against hers.

"Since we were kids," Fia looked down at the cup in her hand. "We grew up together."

"Have you ever dated anyone other than Shepard?" His casual question seemed anything but casual.

"No."

"Has he?" The Major was hitting on things that she'd been trying very hard _not_ to think about.

"Yes, he has." She stood up abruptly. "I need to get back to my side of the FOB."

It was a long night, and she'd fully intended to get a long nap but a young marine who looked no more than eighteen told her that the Admiral wanted to see her. She shook her head to try to clear away the sleep and headed over to the building across the way.

"Admiral?" Fia stepped into the room to find Anderson waiting for her alone.

"Lieutenant….Fia." Anderson rubbed his chin for a moment. "Please, for the sake of my sanity, message your father."

She coughed to cover a laugh. "Yes, Sir."

Fia climbed up to her favorite spot on one of the nearby building's roofs. It was quiet and private since it wasn't close enough to any of the gates to be used as a watch post. Text was better than live conversation, yelling was definitely in the Hackett DNA. She sent her dad a quick message.

* * *

_From: Fia_

_To: Dad_

_Subj: Anderson_

_Stop harassing Anderson._

_Fia_

* * *

_From: Dad_

_To: Fia_

_Subj: re: Anderson_

_Stop ignoring my comm requests and I won't have to go through Anderson._

_Dad_

* * *

_From: Fia_

_To: Dad_

_Subj: re: Anderson_

_I'm ignoring your requests because I'm tired of being yelled at and I'm tired of yelling._

_Fia_

* * *

_From: Dad_

_To: Fia_

_Subj: re: Anderson_

_I won't yell if you don't yell._

_Dad_

* * *

_From: Fia_

_To: Dad_

_Subj: Seriously?_

_Are you...did you hit your head?_

_Fia_

* * *

_From: Dad_

_To: Fia_

_Subj: Yes._

_You're my daughter._

_My only daughter._

_And you're in the middle of a warzone._

_I'd like to __see__ that you're …alive._

_Please?_

_Dad_

* * *

Hackett did know how to play dirty when he wanted to. Fia sighed then sent him a vid-comm hail.

_Bastard_.

He was silent for a moment when he finally popped up on the little vid-screen. "How are you, kid?"

"Good. Tired. You?" She hated awkward conversations with her dad. She'd rather deal with the yelling.

"Same."

"This is ridiculous. Just…say whatever it is that's on your mind, Dad." Fia ran her hand through her hair. It was starting to grow out a little. Haircuts and blue dye weren't really in high demand at the moment.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you when you told me you wanted to be assigned to the Crucible." Her dad frowned. "There's a position on the Crucible if you're interested."

"What's the matter, Dad? Not used to having your decisions come back to smack you in your face?" Fia was still pissed off that he'd listened to Shepard. "It's a little late to give me that assignment now."

"Ofelia."

_Oh. That's right. No yelling._

_Screw that._

"There are thousands of soldiers down here fighting, trying to keep the reapers at bay until your golden boy is ready with all those fleets. I think you've got better things to do that try to save one marine." Fia was all out of patience for all of the fucking men in her life.

"You're my daughter."

"Oh, now you remember? Where was that thought when you listened to Shepard? I just…I don't understand, you tell me to confide in you…that I can always come to you with problems, that you'll listen. And…" Fia stared out across the city. "I can't do this anymore. I'll message you once a day to let you know that I'm alive. I'm done."

She disconnected the comm before he could say anything else. She leaned her head back against the wall and let the tears fall. Quiet crying was always the worst. It was like a massive ache in her chest. She closed her eyes and willed the tears away. Someone sat beside her a moment later.

"S'ok, Mini-Hackett." Aidan wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "I won't tell anyone."

The Major held her while she buried her face against his shirt and just let all the overwhelming emotions drain away. Coats kept one arm around her while his other hand gently caressed her head, playing with her hair. He whispered to her, silly stories about the city before the war. She didn't hear half of it.

Fia had a pounding headache by the time that she'd cried herself out. "Sorry."

"Why?"

"Hackett's don't cry." She was having trouble making herself move out of his arms. He smelled good for one, and comfort in a warzone was hard to find.

"Sounds like a shitty mantra." He shook his head. "You need chocolate."

"What?" She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands to erase the signs of tears.

"Chocolate solves just about everything." He stood up and pulled her up with him. "Let's grab lunch, you can tell me why Hackett's don't cry."

She found a message from _Admiral Hackett_ later that evening while she was getting ready for her patrol.

* * *

_From: Dad_

_To: Fia_

_Subj: Sorry._

_I'm sorry, kid. _

_Dad._

* * *

_From: Fia_

_To: Dad_

_Subj: re: Sorry_

_I know._

_But I'm still staying here. I can do…something. _

_I'm not just your kid here._

_Fia_


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

"Lieutenant Hackett."

Fia looked over her shoulder to find Major Atwell. "Sir?"

"A moment of your time?" He waved towards the comm room which was currently empty. "You heard about the squad that was heading over from Paris?"

She nodded.

"They ran into a little trouble. The survivors just came in a moment ago." Atwell looked incredibly frustrated.

"Damn reapers."

"There's one man left out there. They couldn't get to him." He handed her a datapad. "Admiral Anderson doesn't feel that we should risk another unit to see if he's alive."

"But?" Fia glanced at the map on the pad that he'd handed to her.

"I thought you'd like to know who it was." He paused before continuing. "Commander Edward Stevens."

"Eddie?" Fia almost dropped the datapad in her hand. Eddie had been one of her closest friends in bootcamp, and in N7 training. They'd been assigned to the same Spec Ops team.

"I can't order you to find him. Hell, Admiral Hackett hasn't officially reinstated you yet anyway." Atwell smiled at her. "A single marine could sneak through the reaper lines and at least find out if he's alive. Maybe patch him up and help him back to the FOB."

She glanced down at the map once more. A trek like that would take at least a day there, and probably two back on foot if Eddie was injured. He was a fucking giant though, if he couldn't walk, she was screwed. Her old squad leader reached out to grab her hand.

"Sir?"

"Admiral Anderson _cannot_ know about this until you've already left. I'd suggest waiting an hour so you can leave when night falls." He took the datapad from her and exited the room.

Anderson wasn't the Admiral that she was worried about. Admiral Hackett would…not be…amused when he found out. She headed back to her bunk to prep. She walked around in full armor during night patrols, so it wouldn't stand out too much. She slipped a few power bars and juice, extra ammo and medi-gel into a backpack.

Fia waited two hours before ducking out of the quietest of the gates to the FOB. She needed to get into the cover of one of the nearby buildings to avoid being seen by both the reapers and the Alliance forces. She was so focused on getting there that she didn't notice the footsteps behind her until a hand clamped down on her shoulder.

"What are you up to, Mini-Hackett?" Major Coats pulled her into what looked like a destroyed grocery store.

"I…uh…" She frowned at him. "What the hell are _you_ up to?"

"Cover mission, perhaps? Trying to find that missing marine?" He tapped a finger on the pack on her back. "I overheard your conversation with Major Atwell. You're going to need someone watching your back."

"Back or ass?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I can multi-task."

To avoid detection, they took a slightly less direct route to where Eddie had last been seen. The reapers had all but decimated major parts of the city. It made traversing through the ruins a little complicated since they needed to remain unseen.

It took them over a day to find Commander Stevens last known location. And the tracker had failed to update, which sucked since Eddie wasn't where he was supposed to be. She hoped that meant he was up and moving, not that he'd been killed. Several hours later, they finally found him holed up in a third floor apartment building.

"Great, I'm fucking hallucinating." Eddie exclaimed when she stepped into view. He lowered the shotgun he was holding. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Sorry to disappoint." She grinned at him. "Good to see you alive and…shooting."

"Me? I'm not the one who's come back to life after six damn years." Eddie seemed relatively uninjured except for a few burns on his upper body and a gash on his left leg.

"It's complicated." Fia crouched down beside him to apply medi-gel to the wound on his leg.

"Can you walk, Stevens?" Aidan kept an eye on the door.

"I can. Good to see you too by the way, Major. Been a long time." Eddie turned his attention back to Fia. "Does Shepard know that you're not dead?"

Fia gave him a look. "We need to start back towards the base."

Eddie hauled himself up to his full 6' 5". He towered over Fia. "I take it from the frown on your face that Shepard handled himself…badly."

Fia tossed a powerbar and juice at him. Then she pulled off her gauntlet to shot her empty ring finger. "It went brilliantly."

"Good. Hate the fucker anyway." He tossed the empty wrapper back at her then reached down to grab his shotgun. "C'mon little one, lead the way."

"Still with the little one? Honestly?" She elbowed him in the side.

"Grow a few more inches and I'll upgrade you to a new nickname. Until then, move your ass Lieutenant." Eddie winked at her.

"Bastard."

They made it relatively quickly back the way that they had come towards the FOB. They were within minutes of the north gate when they ran straight into a cluster of cannibals. _Shit._ A blast from one of the cannibals hit Fia square in the back.

The biotic shield that she'd crated around the three of them failed. She stumbled forward. Eddie swung her up over his shoulder and the two men made a run for the base. Cover fire from the base allowed them to slip inside without any further problems.

Fia let the medic patch her up before dragging herself into Anderson's _office._ Major Coats and Commander Stevens were already being debriefed. The debrief was more _'what the hell were you three thinking'_ than anything else.

"Lieutenant Hackett. "Anderson turned his attention towards her. "Would you care to explain to me where the hell you've been?"

"We got a little lost on patrol." Fia motioned towards Eddie. "We just happened to stumble into Commander Stevens here on the way back."

"You got lost?" Anderson glanced at the three of them. "Lost? You expect me to believe that a Major and Lieutenant both equipped with omni-tools were unable to keep track of the only Forward Operating Base in the area."

"I knew I should've retaken that orienteering course." She muttered to Aidan who developed a sudden cough about the same time Eddie did.

"You'll be pleased to know that Admiral Hackett requested that you contact him immediately." Anderson appeared to be having trouble keeping a straight face as well. "He wanted me to specify that you contact him via vid-comm."

_Shit._

"Yes, sir. I'll just go get yelled at now." Fia started back out of the room.

"Lieutenant?"

She glanced back at the Admiral. "Sir?"

"Good job." He dismissed the three of them.

Fia ignored the two grinning bastards who followed her out of the office and made her way to the comm room. The comm specialist connected her with the Admiral faster than she was prepared for.

"Lieutenant." It was never good when her dad started with her rank.

"Hi." Fia couldn't think of a damn thing to say, so she disconnected the call.

She was half-way to the barracks when her omni-tool beeped. With an annoyed sigh, she redirected her steps up to her favorite spot on the roof to suck it up and deal with her dad. She answered his hail once she was comfortably seated with her back to a wall.

"Lieutenant."

_Again?_

"Admiral." Fia decided to go with it.

"I understand that despite Admiral Anderson's orders to the contrary. Commander Stevens was rescued by you and Major Coats. Did you receive an order from Major Atwell?" He spoke with carefully clipped words.

"I was under the assumption that I am still listed as MIA or KIA, so if that's the case, I am not under any obligation to follow commands, Sir." She rolled her neck around for a moment. "Major Atwell did not give me an order. He happened to mention that Commander Stevens had been separated from his unit and might need assistance. I made my own decision; Major Coats decided to…assist."

"You'll be pleased to know that you are now officially reinstated." Her dad spoke after a prolonged silence. "How's your back?"

"Fine."

"Ofelia?" He prompted when she didn't expand.

"My biotics and armor took most of the hit. It stings a little but I'm fine." She shrugged and then had to hide the wince. It stung more than a little but he didn't need to know that.

"And the Commander?"

"Eddie? He's great. Good to see the bear again. I missed the fucker." Fia grinned.

He pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment. "If I ordered you on a transport to join the _Normandy_ or the Crucible, would you get on it?"

"No."

"You'd defy a direct order from the Admiral of the entire Alliance fleet?" His hand fell away from his face.

"I would and not for the first time." Fia was getting tired of the _official_ tone of the conversation. It exhausted her when her dad put on his _Admiral_ hat.

"I don't want you on the front lines."

"From what I've seen of the reapers, everywhere you go; it's the fucking front lines." She pointed out. "Dad? I'm fine. I went out and did what I was trained to do. I saved a life. To me? That's a good goddamn day. Stop raining on my parade."

"I'm worried." His voice started to rise.

"You're always worried. What's so damn different now?" Fia tried to keep her voice low.

"The difference is that losing you isn't a theoretical fear. I know what it feels like…to grieve." He sighed. "Try to stay out of trouble. And stay away from Commander Stevens; I'm not bailing either of you out of the brig ever again."

"It was one damn time. And it wasn't even my fault…entirely." She laughed. "Can I go now? I need a nap."

"Consider yourself yelled at." He disconnected the comm.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

Fia and Eddie sat on the edge of the roof trying to hit Major Coats on the ear. Eddie would toss a small rock and Fia used her biotics to keep it in the air. Aidan was mid-conversation with Admiral Anderson down near one of the gates when one bounced off his head and hit the Admiral.

_Shit._

With a muffled laugh, Eddie dragged her away from the edge of the building. "Your aim sucks."

"My aim?" She elbowed him in the side. "I'm responsible for keeping it in the air; you're supposed to aim it."

"Think they have a brig in the FOB?" Eddie asked while they headed down to the mess for lunch. "We could add to the total. How many times did we _sleep_ it off in the brig?"

"Officially? One time. That's the only time that _Admiral Hackett_ knows about." Fia grinned at him. "Unofficially? I refuse to answer on the grounds that I might incriminate myself."

"How very Hackett of you."

"Stop using my name in vain." She grabbed her MRE and headed to the barracks, she needed to check her messages.

* * *

_From: Shepard_

_To: Fia_

_Subj: Closer_

_We're getting closer to a full fleet. _

_I hear you rescued Edward. How wonderful for him._

_Have you made a decision about us?_

_Shepard_

* * *

_From: Fia_

_To: Shepard_

_Subj: re: decisions._

_What is your problem with Eddie? _

_What decision?_

_There's no ring on my finger, that's a decision._

_Fia_

* * *

_From: Shepard_

_To: Fia_

_Subj: re: Cmdr. Stevens_

_Is it really over? We've been together since we were kids._

_You're the only one for me._

_Shepard_

* * *

_From: Fia_

_To: Shepard_

_Subj: re: only one._

_But I'm not the only one, am I?_

_Aside from the lovely Ms. Lawson, I believe there were a few other women that you neglected to mention to me. _

_Focus on the war, Shepard. It's clearly what you do best._

_Fia_

* * *

A few days later, Fia heard through the grapevine that _someone_ had ordered that she be kept on patrols that stayed close to the FOB. She was furious. She'd tried to speak to Admiral Anderson and Major Atwell about it. They'd just shrugged and said they were just doing what was right for the Alliance. She had also sent a few scathing messages to her father before finally stopping talking to him altogether.

She was still fuming a week later. She glanced up to find Anderson standing in front of her while she sat in the mess having dinner.

"Your father…" Anderson started to speak.

"I'm not interested." Fia cut him off and went back to focusing on her meal.

"You shouldn't be so hard on your dad." Eddie spoke after Anderson had left.

"Why?"

"You have to understand, little one. He wasn't right after you disappeared. I remember seeing him after the memorial services that they held for you." He tried to grab her sandwich and she swatted his hand away. "I was going to talk to him, you know, see if I could…help. I stepped into his office to find the place destroyed. He'd torn it all apart. I've never…I mean…he's fucking Admiral Hackett. He doesn't bat an eye-lid at anything. And he was sitting in the middle of the floor with that picture from your graduation. You remember? The one I took of you and him? He was just staring at it."

Fia shoved her plate towards him. Her appetite was suddenly gone. She started up from the table when Eddie's much larger hand engulfed hers. She looked up at him. "What?"

"I'm serious, Fia. Your death all but broke him. It was like all the light was sucked out of his world." Eddie let go of her hand and turned towards _her_ meal. "Ooo, free food."

Fia rolled her eyes and headed outside to find some privacy. She ended up on the damn roof again. It was fast becoming the only place that she knew to go. She'd brought a bottle of beer with her that had been pilfered from the officers' supplies. It was liquid courage. She drank the bottle and thought about her dad for a long time. It was late in the night when she finally decided to contact him.

* * *

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: London_

_From: F. Hackett_

_To: S. Hackett_

_22:03 FH: Dad? Are you awake?_

_22:12 SH: Thought you weren't talking to me._

_22:14 FH: I…_

_22:15 SH: You ok, kid?_

_22:17 FH: I was talking to Eddie earlier._

_22:19 SH: Words that never fail to strike fear into the hearts of any Alliance Admiral._

_22:21 FH: He told me about the memorial…for me…I mean when everyone thought I was dead._

_22:28 FH: You still there?_

_22:29 SH: Yes._

_22:31 FH: I never…I'm sorry that I've been…difficult._

_22:32 SH: You're my daughter, what else would you be?_

_22:33 FH: Funny._

_22:34 FH: I love you, dad. _

_22:35 SH: I love you too._

_22:48 SH: Tell me what's on your mind._

_22:53 FH: It's not a conversation that I….it can wait. _

_22:54 SH: We're in the middle of a war, kid. There's not much waiting left._

_22:55 FH: It can wait until we're together again. I gotta go. _

_22:56 User has disconnected._

_._

* * *

Her patrols went back to normal after their conversation. She was coming back from patrol with Major Coats a few days later when Admiral Anderson waved her over. She winked at Aidan before jogging over to the Admiral.

"Sir?"

"You've got a visitor." He motioned towards his _office._

"Again?" Fia groaned. "Can I shoot the bastard this time, sir?"

"I'll leave that up to you, Lieutenant." Anderson chuckled and motioned for her to head inside.

She stepped inside prepared for another argument with Shepard. "Dad?"

"I used to tell myself that I had all the time in the world for conversations with my daughter." He remarked. He pulled her into a hug. "Then you were gone, and there was no time left. So no more waiting, tell me what you wanted to talk to me about."

"Did you really destroy your office when you thought I was dead?" She asked after a moment.

"How?" He frowned down at her. "Yes, I did."

"Why?"

He pulled her over to a couple of chairs. They sat beside each other. "When you were six or seven, I got a message from one of your teachers. They were looking for parent volunteers for some event. They needed someone to narrate a story or something. She said that my daughter had _volunteered_ me for the job. She thought that I'd want to know the reason."

Fia shook her head with a laugh. "I remember that. I said that my dad could do it."

"You said that your dad could do it because he could do anything." He corrected with a smile. "I'll never forget it."

"What does that have to do with your office though?" She gave him a confused glance.

"I kept hearing you say that I could do anything. But I couldn't bring you back. Hell, I couldn't find you." His hands clenched tightly around the arms of the chair he was in. "You were just gone. Gone. And…I was useless."

"Dad."

He turned towards her. "I know that since you've been back, I've held on a little too tightly. And I'm sorry for that, but…I don't want to get another message telling me that my daughter's presume dead."

"I'm a marine, Dad. I can't promise that I'll live a long life." Fia reached out to take his hand. "I wish I could. You can't promise that you'll survive this war, either."

"True." He glanced down at her hand. "Are you and Commander Stevens…"

"Hell no." Fia gave him a horrified look. "It would be like kissing a brother. No."

"Shepard told me that you were seeing someone." He gave her a shred look.

"Don't you have a Crucible to build?" Fia stood and tried to rush him to the door.

"Ofelia?"

"What? You never liked Shepard anyway. Why is that?" Fia crossed her arms and glared at him.

"It's like looking in a mirror when you do that." He chuckled.

"Why? Do I look old, grey and male?" She grinned.

"I think that's my cue to head back to the Crucible." He pulled her in for another hug. "Stay safe, you hear me, kid? You stay safe."

She gave him a salute and pushed him out the door. "Yes, Sir."

"And stop throwing rocks at officers' heads." He ignored her salute and headed over to a waiting shuttle.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

"When we get back to the base, and we tell this story. I recommend we leave out the part where we both fell into the fucking River Thames." Fia stood dripping on the ground trying very hard not to laugh at Aidan. "And we'll also leave out the part where I said I fucking told you so."

"When I said I wanted to make you wet, this was definitely not what I had in mind." He motioned towards a nearby apartment building. "Let's get dry."

"With our luck, it'll be infested with fucking husks." She muttered but followed him anyway. "Or worse, those weird ass spider things."

They found an apartment with relatively little damage that was empty of both humans and reapers. Fia stripped out of her soaking wet armor and fatigues. She sat on top of an overturned couch in her underwear and a tank-top. She glanced up in time to watch Aidan slowly unbuckling his armor. He set it beside hers. He pulled off his trousers and shirt.

He grabbed their wet clothing and tossed them into the dryer that they'd found in the apartment. Thankfully, power hadn't been cut off just yet. She got a rather spectacular view upper body and legs. She found herself suddenly a little out of breath for no reason whatsoever.

"Enjoying the view?" He winked at her.

"I haven't decided yet. Could you turn around a few times….slowly?" Fia grinned at him.

Before he could respond, her omni-tool beeped with an incoming hail from her dad. _Shit._ She couldn't answer a vid-chat with her just dressed in underwear. She decided to send him a message instead; since they'd talked in person, Fia had been trying really hard not to ignore her dad.

* * *

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: London_

_From: F. Hackett_

_To: S. Hackett_

_17:02 FH: What's up, Dad?_

_17:03 SH: Answer my hail._

_17:06 FH: I am._

_17:07 SH: The Vid hail, Ofelia. Now._

_17:11 FH: It's not…convenient. _

_17:12 SH: Make it convenient. _

_17:13 FH: Fine._

_17:14 User has disconnected._

* * *

"You stay the fuck over there." She pointed at Major Coats before pulling up the vid. She tried to hold her omni-tool up high enough that the Admiral wouldn't be able to see…anything.

"Ofelia. Aren't you supposed to be on a recon mission?" He frowned at her.

"I am." She frowned back at him.

"Then why are you in a tank-top? Where's your damn armor?" He asked.

"I fell in a river. It's a little hard to be stealthy when you leave wet boot prints everywhere. What was so damn urgent that you couldn't wait until I got back from the recon mission?" Fia needed to rush this fucking conversation.

"Commander Shepard recently cleared out the Sanctuary refugee camp on Horizon." Her dad seemed a little off.

"Ok?"

"He found some records that he thought I might…that you…" Hackett was silent for a long while, so long that she wondered if the connection had failed or something. "Your mother went to Sanctuary. There were no survivors found."

_Fuck._

"I…thanks for telling me dad, I need to go." She disconnected the call.

_Dead._

Her mother might have been a complete bitch. But up until a few months ago, she hadn't known that. Her anger and biotics flared at about the same time. She slammed her fist straight through the nearest wall. Strong arms wrapped around hers, pinning her arms to her sides.

"Easy, Mini-Hackett, easy." He lifted her up and carried her over to the couch. He used his foot to push it back upright and sat on it with Fia in his arms. "I'm sorry about your mom."

"Me too. Even if she was a total bitch." Fia leaned her head against his shoulder for a moment. "I shouldn't feel so much for someone who didn't want a biotic for a kid, but…"

"She was your mom?" He finished for her.

"Exactly." Fia found her anger dissipating as she slowly realized just how close they were and how…under-dressed they were. Her fingers traced the bullet wound on his chest. "I…"

"Yes?"

Her fingers moved from the scar up to his jaw. "I think I should go see if our fatigues are dry."

The arms around her tightened a little. "I'm comfortable."

"I'm sure you are. I can _feel_ how damn _comfortable _you are." She flicked him on the side of the neck. "Let me up."

"Momentarily, Mini-Hackett, I've got to test a theory first." Aidan tapped his fingers against her chin until she lifted her head. He leaned in to kiss her.

"What theory is that?" She whispered against his lips.

He grabbed her by the waist and twisted her in his lap until she was straddling him. "The theory that it'll be as good as I've been imagining it would be."

She was moving in for another kiss when a ding let them know that the clothes had dried. For a moment, she considered getting up to check on it but the warm, very hard chest under her hands made for a very convincing argument. The second kiss turned into a third and a fourth before she finally got up from his lap and headed over to the dryer.

"Am I wasting my time?" Aidan asked after they'd gotten back into their armor and were headed to the outskirts of London. The recon mission was to set up a few comm terminals that would grant a better view of what the hell the reapers were doing.

"What?"

He grabbed her arm and pulled her in between two walls as a harvester flew overhead. "Do I have a chance with you? Or are you still wrapped up in Commander Shepard?"

The question took her by surprise and it took her a moment to really think about it. Shep had been a massive part of her life…since she could remember practically. Eddie had finally admitted to her that he'd caught Shepard with a few girls when they were younger. It was apparently what soured their friendship. Eddie had been furious that Shepard had cheated on her.

_Was she done with Shepard?_

She looked into Coats' eyes. "You have more than a chance."

It took them hours to finish their mission and get back to the base. Fia changed into clean fatigues and grabbed a quick bite to eat. She went up to her favorite spot on the roof. She needed to think and to speak with her dad.

* * *

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: London_

_From: F. Hackett_

_To: S. Hackett_

_20:14 FH: Hey._

_20:18 SH: Mission went well?_

_20:21 FH: Yea._

_20:22 FH: I need…advice._

_20:24 SH: Advice? About?_

_20:25 FH: Uhm. Men._

_20:29 SH: Men? Plural? Or Singular?_

_20:31 FH: Plural._

_20:32 SH: Plural. _

_20:33 FH: Shepard and I…are…over. I think._

_20:35 SH: I know. _

_20:36 FH: And I uhm…shit. Nevermind, I can't talk to you about this. _

_20:37 FH: I need to get some sleep. Love you._

_20:37 User has disconnected._

* * *

Fia glanced up to find Eddie heading towards her. "Hey."

"Hey back. So what exactly did you two do out there? Hmm?" Eddie sat next to her on the roof and handed her a beer.

"We achieved our mission." Fia smirked at him before taking a sip of beer.

"Really? Did he _achieve_ his mission to get in your pants?" He nudged her with his elbow.

Fia sprayed beer everywhere. "Bastard. No, he didn't."

"Why the hell not? You had all the privacy in the world out there." Eddie snickered while she wiped the beer from her shirt.

"Oh yea, loads of privacy with the husks and giant reapers and shit." She rolled her eyes at him.

"He's a good man." Eddie turned serious. "He's not like Shepard. Aidan will treat you right, Little One."

"And you know this how?" Fia set her beer down and laughed when he grabbed it.

"He took a bullet for me." He shrugged before chugging down the rest of _her_ beer.

"Can I ask you something?" She waited for him to nod before continuing. "Why don't you like Shepard?"

"Aside from the fact that I caught him cheating on you eons ago?" Eddie peeled the wrapper off of the beer bottle. "Shepard's the kind of man that takes a woman for granted. You deserve better than that Little One. And he wasn't at your goddamn memorial. If I ever see him again, I'll punch the bastard in the balls for that. _Stupid shit._"

"Why wasn't he there? I thought he said he was." Fia was feeling very confused.

"Ask your dad why he wasn't there." Eddie stood up and stormed away without saying another word.

_The fuck was that all about._

Fia gave into her curiosity and pulled up her damn omni-tool again.

* * *

_From: Fia_

_To: Dad_

_Subj: Memorial._

_What happened at my memorial?_

_Eddie said that Shepard wasn't there. He said to ask you about it?_

_Fia_

* * *

_From: Fia_

_To: Shepard_

_Subj: Question._

_Did something happen between you and Eddie after I disappeared?_

_Around the time of the memorial that was held for me?_

_Fia_

* * *

_From: Shepard _

_To: Fia_

_Subj: re: Question._

_Eddie and I have never gotten along. I don't remember a specific argument at your memorial._

_I've got bigger things to focus on at the moment._

_Shepard_

* * *

_From: Dad_

_To: Fia_

_Subj: re: Memorial_

_Shepard was not there._

_He got into a fight with Stevens the night before, and I told him not to show up._

_You don't need to know what the fight was about. You said you're moving on, just let it go, kid. _

_Stay safe._

_Love you,_

_Dad_

* * *

_From: Fia_

_To: Dad_

_Subj: re: Memorial_

_Really? Have we met? _

_I'm your daughter. Do you see me letting this go?_

_Tell me the truth._

_Fia_

* * *

_From: Dad_

_To: Fia_

_Subj: re: Memorial_

_Commander Stevens and I were on our way to dinner on Arcturus when we found out that you were missing, presumed killed in action. We decided to tell Shepard in person. We didn't want him to see something on the extra-net or hear it through scuttlebutt. _

_He wasn't alone when we visited him in his quarters. You could say that we caught him in a compromising position. _

_Is that sufficient truth for you?_

_Dad_

* * *

_From: Fia_

_To: Dad_

_Subj: Truth._

_More than enough._

_I wish you'd told me sooner._

_Fia_

* * *

_From: Fia_

_To: Shepard_

_Subj: re: better things to do._

_Better than tell the truth?_

_Who was she? The woman that you were screwing around with when you found out I was gone?_

_Hmm?_

_If you were wondering, we're officially over._

_Fia_

* * *

"You ok, Mini-Hackett? You've been up here for a while."

Fia glanced up from her omni-tool to find Major Coats walking towards her. She shrugged in answer to his question.

"What's going on?" He eased down beside her.

"I'll tell you about it later." She leaned into him when he draped an arm around her shoulder. "I hate liars. And I hate it when people keep things from me to _protect_ me."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: London_

_From: Aidan_

_To: Fia_

_23:06 A: How's the south quadrant look?_

_23:09 F: Quiet. Too fucking quiet._

_23:10 A: Same here._

_23:11 F: What the hell are they waiting for?_

_23:13 A: I don't know and that's what really worries me._

_23:15 F: It's your turn for the damn coffee._

_23:16 A: Be right there._

_23:17 User has disconnected._

* * *

Ten minutes later, Major Coats was handing her a mug of coffee. He took a seat beside her. They watched the city in silence for a bit. The lack of intel on the reapers was bugging her. She knew that her dad and Shepard were making a move on Cerberus soon. It seemed like too much of a coincidence. Something big was about to happen. That was not encouraging when they were on the front lines.

"How do you know Eddie?" Fia clutched the coffee mug and searched for a topic to distract her.

"We met in a pub over six years ago." Aidan set his cup aside. "He was an angry bastard at the time. We got into a fight. I'd been sent to go on a mission with him. First though, we had to sober the bastard up."

"What mission?" She asked after laughing for a minute. A drunken, angry Eddie was not something that she'd want to deal with. She'd seen him go after Shepard once like that. It had taken four marines to separate the two men.

"Finding a missing soldier." He glanced over at her.

"Who?"

"You." He answered simply.

_Well, fuck._

"He said that you took a bullet for him." Fia stared into her coffee.

"Stevens didn't take it well when we couldn't find you. He got a little reckless when we were fighting our way through a Blue Suns base," Coats shrugged. "I got between him and one of the bastards."

Coming back to a world without Eddie would have seriously sucked. Fia all but tackled hugged the Major. He grabbed her coffee before it tipped over. She whispered a thank you then began to move away. His arm slid around her back and kept her close.

"So you searched for me?" Her lips hovered against his neck.

"I did. Feeling thankful, Mini-Hackett?" He raised both of his eyebrows.

"No, you failed to actually find me," she laughed.

He turned his head towards her. The laughter died in her throat when their eyes met. Her fingers traced the strong line of his jaw. She'd been thinking about the kisses that they'd shared days ago. He waited for her to make the first move.

The first touches of their lips were tentative, but when his tongue brushed against her bottom lip, it lit a fire in her. Fia shifted around in his arms. Her fingers slid back into his hair and she let her tongue begin to explore his mouth.

"Always with the fucking kissing." Eddie's voice drifted over to them.

Fia groaned as she moved out of Aidan's arms. "I will shoot your dangly bits off."

"Hey, I'm attached to those." He grinned at her. "You've got an emergency message via the comm. Anderson asked me to take over your watch."

Fia leaned down for one last kiss before heading down to answer the damn hail. She was surprised when the communications specialist connected her with her dad.

"Fia." He sounded worried. "The Reapers moved the Citadel to Sol. Shepard was able to get the information on the Catalyst, and we've stopped Cerberus. We're making our finally push to Earth now. The Reapers know that we're coming. It's going…"

"It's war. I know what to expect, Dad." Fia heard an explosion in the distance. "Sorry dad, looks like the calm before the storm is over. Stay safe. I love you."

"Ofelia."

"I know, Dad." She grinned at him before racing out of the building. She ran straight into Eddie and Major Coats. "What the hell is going on?"

"Remember how I said it was too fucking quiet?" Aidan gestured towards a beam of light off the in the distance. "Admiral Anderson wants us to head out to see if we can figure out what that is."

"And by us, you mean?" She raised an eyebrow.

"You're staying put. We need a sniper watching the North gate. And you were volunteered" Eddie shoved her in the direction of the barracks. "Get your armor on. Shit is about to hit the fan."

"Hey Eddie." She grabbed his arm before he could race towards the waiting shuttle. "Bring your ass back in one piece, you hear me?"

"What about pretty boy over there?" He nodded towards Major Coats.

"Yea, him too." She winked at Aidan then let Eddie go.

* * *

"Commander Shepard." Aidan wasn't impressed with the man who leaped into the shuttle followed quickly by two other members of his squad. "_Welcome _to Earth."

"And by welcome, what he really means is what took you so fucking long?" Stevens pushed Coats out-of-the-way to move closer to Shepard.

"Gentlemen." Anderson moved between Shepard and the two men. "It's good to see you, Commander."

"You too, Anderson." Shepard shook the Admiral's hand but his gaze was focused on Major Coats.

"This is a goddamn warzone and you are Alliance officers. Whatever the hell your problem with each other is. I expect you to shelve it until the war is over. Understood?" Anderson glared at all three of them until they nodded in agreement. "Focus on the reapers."

Aidan stepped out of the shuttle first and found Fia waiting anxiously. "Aren't you supposed to be shooting husks?"

"I've been shooting them for over six hours. Major Atwell told me to stretch my legs. So I'm stretching them." She grinned at him. The smile disappeared when Shepard came into view. "Well, shit."

"Fia." He moved towards her but found two very large men standing in his away. Eddie and Coats both stepped between them.

"Oh for god's sake." Fia shoved them both out-of-the-way. "I can take care of my fucking self. _Men."_

"Can we talk?" Shepard ignored the _'no's'_ and focused on Fia's 'yes.'

* * *

The barracks were completely empty when Fia stepped inside. She paced the room while Shepard tried to find something to say. She didn't think that either Eddie or Aidan would leave her alone for long with Shepard.

"I still have the ring." Shepard held it out to her. "I…still love you."

"Not enough to tell me the truth about the number of women that you fucked." She ignored the ring and his hand.

"You were missing." He took a step towards her.

"What about the woman who my dad and Eddie found you with? Hmm? You didn't know I was missing then. And she wasn't the only one. Was she?" Fia just didn't have the energy to waste on being angry with him anymore. "I'm done, Shepard. I'm done playing the stupid fool who can't see past _Commander Shepard_ to the truth. I'm not tagging along like some love-struck idiot. It's over. It's so over that it shouldn't have even begun."

"Fia."

"No, just…go away. Go be the fucking hero." She tried to move around him but he blocked her exit.

"You can't just throw away our relationship. We've been together since we…" His arms wrapped around her tightly.

"Let _me go."_ She didn't want him to touch her.

"No. Not until you listen to me." His hold tightened.

"I believe that she asked you to let go of her."

Fia glanced up to find Eddie dragging Shepard out of the barracks before her view was blocked by Aidan. "Bastard."

"True. Are you ok?" He gave her a concerned look.

"Major Coats." Admiral Anderson stepped inside to motion for him to follow.

Fia wandered outside after both of them. She didn't see Shepard anywhere. He must've head up to the command center.

"Fia?" Eddie pulled her aside. "We're heading back out. Are you…"

"I'm fine." She gave him a quick hug. "Come back, damn it. You hear me? Bring _pretty boy_ with you too."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

_She was fucked._

Fia had been on the top of one of the building close to the path that Shepard and the rest of Hammer were using to head towards the beam. She'd set up there to try to snipe as many of the husks and other reaperized creatures as she could. It was the best that she could do to help. She'd seen the reaper landing and heard over the comm that the Major was pulling the troops back.

They thought maybe someone had made it through. It was probably Shep. He always seemed to manage to make it through. She'd been scoping out a husk that was advancing on a marine when the reaper beam hit the building and everything fell out from under her.

She didn't know how long she was out, but when she woke up she was buried under a lot of fucking shit. She couldn't feel her right leg, and from the brief shifting that she tried to do. She had a feeling that she'd lost part of it. A massive chunk of debris was pinning her lower half down.

_Shit._

It was a fucking warzone; it wasn't like she could call for help. Well, she could call for it, but who the hell would be able to get to her with a reaper blowing everything up. She pulled up her omni-tool. The vid-chat function wasn't working, and neither was her comm. She couldn't reach Hackett via chat, so she tried Eddie.

* * *

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: London_

_From: Fia_

_To: Eddie_

_20:10 F: Eddie?_

_20:12 F: Come on bastard, answer me._

_20:14 E: What's up, Little One? Where the hell are you?_

_20:15 E: We expected you to be at the FOB._

_20:16 F: I was on the roof._

_20:17 E: What roof?_

_20:23 F: I'm not sure anymore._

_20:24 E: Why?_

_20:29 F: Why? Because I'm fucking under it now. _

_20:31 E: Shit. Don't move._

_20:32 F: Funny. Very funny. When I'm dead, you're going to feel very bad about that joke._

_20:35 E: We're on our way. _

_20:38 F: Hey Eddie. Thanks for being such a good friend. _

_20:41 E: Shut up. I don't want to hear your goodbyes, damn it._

_20:42 User has disconnected._

* * *

She tried one last ditch effort to reach her dad.

* * *

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: London_

_From: F. Hackett_

_To: S. Hackett_

_21:02 FH: Uhm. Hi?_

_21:03 SH: He did it._

_21:09 SH: Ofelia?_

_21:11 FH: Who did what?_

_21:12 SH: Shepard, he got the Crucible to work. The reapers are done. We won._

_21:18 FH: That's great._

_21:19 SH: What's wrong?_

_21:28 FH: I uhm…I seem to be…buried under a building._

_21:29 SH: Where?_

_21:30 FH: London, obviously._

_21:32 SH: WHERE?_

_21:33 FH: Dad, I don't know. I was on the roof trying to…the reaper hit the building and I don't really know what happened after that. I woke up buried under rubble._

_21:38 SH: We will find you. Are you injured?_

_21:48 SH: Answer me, damn it. Are you hurt?_

_21:51 FH: Yes._

_21:52 SH: How badly?_

_21:58 FH: It really depends on how you feel about a loss of limb._

_21:59 FH: I'm gonna have to let you go dad, I can't keep my arms up to see the omni-tool._

_22:02 SH: Don't you dare do this to me again. I will find you. Keep yourself awake. _

_22:03 Connection lost._

* * *

She must've passed out for a few minutes, because an infernal beeping woke her up. The comm appeared to be working again, because she had a vid-comm hail from her dad. It had come in about fifteen minutes ago. She hit the accept button.

"Ofelia? I can't see you."

"That's because I'm buried under rubble, dad." She grunted when the debris shifted a little. "So…how's the weather?"

"The weather?"

"Did you have something better that you wanted to talk about while I bleed to death?" She regretted the words the minute she said them. Reminding her dad that she was dying probably wasn't all that helpful. "Can we _chat_ later?"

"No. We can't _chat_ later." He had that tone of voice that told her that he was trying really hard not to yell.

"You can yell at me if it helps." She muttered. She tried to shift the wall on her a little. _Bad idea._ She screamed…loudly, then spent a few minutes hyper-ventilating.

"Ofelia? Talk to me. What the hell just happened?" He sounded panicked.

"Nothing." Fia tried to keep her voice normal.

"That was not fucking nothing."

"I tried to move the wall." She admitted finally. "I was not…able to."

"Do not _move _yourself or anything around you. You could do more damage." He ordered.

"Dad."

"I'm serious, just keep yourself as still as possible." He whispered something to someone else. "We've got your approximate location. We will find you."

"Dad." She tried to get his attention again. "Damn it, listen to me."

"I'm listening, kid."

"I don't think there's enough time." She coughed through a shower of dust before continuing. "You need to know…shit…look, I…"

"No. Whatever the hell you think you need to say to me, you tell me in person. That's a damn order, Lieutenant. Do you hear me?" He cut her off.

"Dad."

"I said that's a damn order." His voice sounded…weird.

"When have I _ever_ listened to your orders?" She laughed.

"Make an exception, just this once, Ofelia, please. I…"

Fia didn't get to hear whatever it was that he was going to say next. She passed out again. Her eyes opened briefly when the world started to move around her. She glanced up into a familiar face but everything blurred in pain. She heard a muttered, 'stay with me, Mini-Hackett', but she closed her eyes once again. It was at least a couple of days before she opened them again.

_Hospitals._

_They always smelled._

Before she opened her eyes, she tried moving her arms and legs. Fear gripped her heart a little when she realized that she still couldn't feel her right leg._ Shit._ Her hand touched it and it seemed like it was there. She lifted up her blanket and finally opened her eyes. The leg was there. It was only a slight relief.

_It was there, but why the hell couldn't she feel it?_

Fia glanced around the room. Her dad was slouched in a chair beside the bed. His arm stretched along the side of her bed. He looked like he hadn't moved in a while. Hell, he looked like he hadn't shaved in a while. She couldn't remember the last time that she'd seen him in a uniform that wasn't _crisp_.

"Dad?" She nudged the arm on her bed. _Nothing._ Her fingers picked at a couple of his arms hairs and he shot up out of the chair. "Hi."

"Hi?" He took a moment to straighten himself out. "Do not fucking do that to me again. You were…you died, on the way to the hospital, a couple times. You died on the goddamn operating table at least once."

"But look, I'm not dead." Fia thought that was the important part. "Though, I do seem to be having trouble with my right leg."

Hackett grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. "Ofelia."

"Yes?"

"Just for once, can you please not make a joke about this? They wanted me to decide whether to…" His hand gripped hers even tighter before he continued. "They asked me for permission to stop trying to bring you back. How was I supposed to be able to say sure, kill my daughter?"

"Dad."

"I couldn't do it. I told them to keep trying, and then…like you were just trying to aggravate me, all of a sudden you started breathing again." He sat on the edge of the bed.

"Hey? Dad?" She waited until he looked her in the eyes before continuing. "I love you. I uhm…I heard you yelling at me. It was kind of like I was watching my body; I was drifting away to silence. But I kept hearing you yelling at me. I just had this moment of, well shit, time to stop fucking around."

He handed her a glass of water from the nearby table. "You've got a couple visitors waiting to see you."

"Oh?" She glanced up to see Eddie and Aidan step into the room.

"Mini-Hackett."

Fia inhaled the water that she was drinking when she caught the look on her dad's face. She coughed for a moment before grinning up at the Major. "Bastard."

"Do I want to know?" Her dad looked between her and Coats with a raised eyebrow.

"No." Fia shook her head. "It's great seeing everyone but…what the fuck is wrong with my leg?"

Eddie chuckled as he sat down on the other side of her bed. "Long answer? Or short answer?"

"How about the easy to understand answer?" She frowned at him.

"Your spine compressed when the building fell. They think it pinched a nerve or something that caused the paralysis. It's possible that it's temporary." Her dad spoke before Eddie could respond.

"Possible?"Fia felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. "Well, that's just fucking brilliant."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

Over a week later, _possible_ hadn't really turned into anything. Fia still couldn't feel her right leg. The rest of her body seemed to be working just fine though. She was learning to move around in either a wheelchair or with a cane. She dragged herself outside to get some non-hospital air. London still looked rather decimated. But at least there were no fucking husks.

She found a bench to collapse on and closed her eyes to enjoy some sunlight. She figured she had about thirty minutes before someone figured out that she'd bolted from her bed. _Fuckers_. Just because she was _Admiral Hackett's daughter,_ they treated her like she was a fragile object. It annoyed her to no end. Major Coats and Commander Stevens had been kept busy. She hadn't seen anyone but medical type people in days.

"Fia?"

She opened her eyes to find Shepard standing in front of her. _Fucking great. _"Hail the conquering hero."

He frowned at her before taking a seat beside her. "How are you doing?"

"Crippled." She pointed to her leg. "It's fairly useless at the moment."

"I heard." He turned towards her. "Can we talk?"

"Well, I'm not really capable of running away. So talk." Fia didn't really have many options at the moment. _Fucking leg._

"I love you." He grabbed her hand. "I should've told you the truth. I know I've made some mistakes. But…I love you. All the years that we were together, isn't that worth given me a second chance?"

"A second chance? Isn't that more like a third or fourth?" She glared at him.

"Fia."

_Fuck this shit._

She didn't care if her leg wasn't working right. Another minute of listening to Shepard would be torture. She stood up and started to limp away. The doctors had told her to take it easy when she was walking. Her balance wasn't what it had been while she was still getting used to the cane. The toe of her boot got caught in a broke piece of sidewalk and she collapsed instantly.

"Mini-Hackett? What the hell are you doing, sweetheart?" Aidan crouched down in front of her. He lifted her up off the ground.

"Trying to make a dramatic exit, I succeeded." She pointed back towards Shepard who had stepped over to help.

Coats kept an arm around her waist to help support her while he focused his attention on Shepard. "Commander? I believe Admiral Hackett ordered you back to the _Normandy_."

"This is none of your damn business, Major." Shepard's control over his temper snapped at the interference. "You don't get my fucking seconds."

"The fuck did you just say?" Fia started towards him belatedly remembering that her fucking leg didn't work. "Your seconds? Are you…"

"Shit, I didn't mean it like that." Shepard looked the most flustered that she'd ever seen him.

"Ofelia? You're supposed to rest." Her dad joined them. He glanced between the three of them with a frown. "What's going on?"

"Could you hold your daughter for a moment, Admiral?" Aidan waited until Hackett was supporting Fia before turning back to Shepard. "Would you care to repeat what you said?"

"I…" Shepard backed away. "I don't need to repeat myself."

Hackett looked at Fia with concern on his face. "What did Shepard say that has you and the Major so upset?"

"Dad." She knew this was going to end badly for someone…hopefully Shepard.

"Ofelia."

"Shepard…might have suggested to the Major that Aidan couldn't have Shepard's seconds." Fia cringed at the idea of having to say that to him.

"He said what?" Eddie stepped up behind her.

_Oh great._

"Commander Stevens." Hackett led Fia over to Eddie. "Take care of my daughter."

"Yes, Sir." Eddie grinned.

"Go stand with them, Major." Hackett glanced at Aidan when he hesitated. "That's a goddamn order."

"Sir?" Shepard seemed as confused as the rest of them.

"Six years ago I caught you in bed with some woman…a woman that wasn't my daughter." Hackett paused for a moment before slamming his fist straight into Shepard's jaw. A second punch caught Shepard in the side of the head. "You stay the hell away from her. Do you hear me, Commander?"

"Holy fucking shit." Fia stared up at Eddie who appeared as stunned as she was.

Hackett spun on his heel and stormed over to the three of them. He took Fia by the arm and led her towards the hospital. "I've wanted to do that for six years."

"That was badass." Fia laughed all the way back to her hospital room.

"No more damn marines." He muttered while he helped her up on the bed.

"No more marines?" She frowned at him.

"Date someone outside the damn Alliance." He clarified.

"Uh. About that." Fia scratched her head for a moment.

Her dad raised an eyebrow at her. "Who is it? Not Stevens. Please say it's not Stevens."

"I already told you that it wasn't Eddie." She reminded him.

"Then who? Major Coats." He sat on the edge of her bed. "I don't think that's…"

Aidan and Eddie chose that moment to step into the room looking…rumpled. Eddie's shirt was torn. Aidan had what looked like a busted lip. And both of their knuckles looked bruised.

"What the hell happened to you two?" Fia raised an eyebrow.

"No idea what you're talking about," Eddie grinned at her.

"Can he walk?" She gave him a knowing look.

"The fucker can crawl for all I care. I don't give a damn if he did save the universe." Eddie crossed his arms and dared her to argue with him.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:**

**For the anon reviewer. Maybe this is closer to an answer for you. =)**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

"Please?" Fia gave Eddie her saddest face.

"No."

"Oh come on, it's just one favor." She was not opposed to begging at this point.

"Do I need to remind you what happened the last damn time I agreed to a _favor?_" He grinned at her. "I am _not_ getting thrown in the brig again."

"Eddie?"

"Do not give me that look. I am not caving." He warned her.

"I could always tell my dad where we _really_ went for my eighteenth birthday." Fia picked at a loose thread on the hospital blanket.

"That was _your_ damn idea." He perched on the edge of her bed.

"So? Do you think _he'll_ believe going to that particular club was _my idea?_" Fia raised an eyebrow at him.

"Fine, fine. What's this brilliant plan that will inevitably end up with one of us in the brig?" Eddie sighed…deeply.

"I want to talk to Aidan." She'd been thinking about how to manage it for days, ever since she started getting a bit of feeling in her leg…well…one toe, but it was hope.

"You talked to him this morning, twice." He was not moved.

"I want to talk to him outside of this fucking hospital room without you or _Admiral fucking Hackett_ hovering around." Fia sighed. "I just need a distraction."

"A distraction?" He started to argue but apparently changed his mind. "How big of a distraction?"

"Well considering the fact that I have to lug this useless limb around, it needs to be long enough to let me get the hell out of the hospital." She planned on _borrowing_ his skycar when she got to the landing pad. He didn't need to know that.

"Major Coats is at the FOB. They're building the new Alliance Headquarters there." He raised an eyebrow at her. "How the hell are you going to get there?"

"I have a strategy for that too."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Eddie helped her up out of the bed. "When did you get dressed? Are you sure about this?"

"It has to be now. Dad's on the Citadel for at least another six hours. Go. Distract. You're over-sized and muscled, I'm sure you can figure something out." She reached for her cane. "I got dressed earlier. Now make yourself useful."

Eddie muttered all the way to the door. A few minutes later, a rather large crash sounded down the hall. Fia ducked…slowly…out one of the side doors and snuck around to the landing pad. She'd _borrowed_ the code to his vehicle a week ago. He was going to kill her when he realized that it was gone.

_Oh well._

She parked just outside of the FOB and pulled up her omni-tool.

* * *

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: London_

_From: Fia_

_To: Aidan_

_14:22 F: There's a skycar parked near where the old north gate was. _

_14:24 A: And?_

_14:25 F: Come for a ride?_

_14:26 A: How the…I'll be right there._

_14:26 User has disconnected._

* * *

"Do I want to know why you have Commander Stevens vehicle?" Aidan asked when he got inside.

"Stole it." She grinned before flying them across the city to a nearby park that she'd researched earlier.

"You stole it? Does anyone know that you're no longer in the hospital?" He asked. "Aside from Stevens."

"Not yet," she shrugged. "I want to talk."

"Talk?" He shifted in the seat so he was facing her. "We've talked every day for the last…few months."

_Men._

"It's just…the war is over. And I'm single…and I haven't slept with anyone in over six fucking years." Fia preferred the direct approach. "That is a _very_ long time. Would you grasp the concept quicker if I shoved your hand up my shirt?"

"No, but you can do it anyway, I won't mind." Aidan smirked.

"Shit." A movement outside the vehicle caught Fia's eye.

"What?"

She pointed towards a very _blue_ shuttle nearby that Admiral Hackett was stepping out of. "That was fast."

"I have a feeling that dating you is only slightly safer than trying to face a reaper on foot with only a fork." He remarked before opening his door and stepping out of the skycar to face the Admiral.

"Major Coats." Hackett glared at him before shifting his glare to his daughter. "Ofelia."

"Hi." She grinned up at him. "I…was sleep walking…and driving…and somehow managed to pick up the Major. Amazing, right?"

"Extraordinary." He gave her a tired look. "Where did you get a skycar?"

"I _borrowed _it." Fia didn't feel in the least bit sorry, this was the most fun she'd had in ages. "It's Eddie's. I don't think he's going to want to press charges."

"Ofelia."

"Yes, Dad?" She watched him glare back at Aidan for a moment. "It's not his fault. I kidnapped him."

"You kidnapped him? While you were sleep walking? You kidnapped a Major in the Alliance who's a foot taller than you, and at least sixty pounds heavier?" Hackett didn't seem to believe her.

"I have skills." Fia nodded with as serious a look as she could manage.

"Do you have anything to add Major Coats?" Hackett turned his _aggravation_ towards Aidan.

"No, sir." Aidan's poker face was much better than Fia's.

"You," he pointed at Coats. "Take the shuttle back to the FOB."

"Yes, sir." He winked at Fia before walking towards the Kodiak.

"You." Hackett turned towards his daughter. "You are going to fly this back to the hospital and we are going to have a long talk about what bed rest means."

"I understand what it means," she shrugged. "I just choose to not care."

"He's a marine." Hackett remarked when he noticed her gaze focused on the Major who was just stepping into the shuttle.

"Yep. A marine with a nice fucking ass." She snickered at his long-suffering sigh. "What? I'm sorry, I have a great appreciation for the finer things in life."

"I said no more marines." He reminded her.

Fia ignored his absurdity and started to head back towards the hospital. "How's the Citadel?"

"I will not be distracted."

"You will if I crash the car." She dodged around a tree. "Look, I'm sorry; you can't tell me who to ogle."

"Ofelia."

"Dad."

"Why can't you pick…anyone…not in an Alliance uniform?" He leaned his head back against the seat.

"The Krogan are kind of cute." Fia chuckled.

"Ofelia."

"Major Coats is not Shepard." She took pity on him when she caught the worry in his eyes. "Seriously though, I like Aidan. Give him a chance."

"Do I have a say in the matter?" He asked as she parked the skycar back at the hospital.

"No."

He muttered something about stubborn fools under his breath before getting out to go around to the other side to help her up.

"Stubborn? That's rich coming from you. I think the saying is, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." She glanced up to find Eddie waiting with an annoyed look on his face.

"You neglected to mention that _my_ skycar was part of _your _plan." He took a step back when he caught the look in her dad's eyes. "It was _all_ her idea."

"Right." Hackett wasn't buying it.

"You better write to me while I'm doing my time in the brig." Eddie grinned at her.

"I'll send you an omni-tool in a cupcake so you can bypass the security gates." Fia promised.

"I love you." He winked at her.

"I am going to court martial both of you." Hackett gave them both a warning look.

"You've been saying that since we enlisted." Fia wasn't worried. "Besides, if you do that, you won't get to order us around anymore. Then where would you be?"

"On vacation." He sighed deeply.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

"When I said I wanted to get out of the hospital, this was _not_ what I had in mind." Fia glanced over at Eddie. They were both sitting on the bench inside one of the cells in the brig.

"He's going to kill us." Eddie dropped his head into his hands.

"Yep." She leaned her head back against the wall. "In my defense, no one told me that it was…against the regs."

"I dare you to tell _Admiral Hackett_ that when he shows up." His voice was muffled. "He'll probably yell about common sense again."

"If he shows up, I have a vague recollection of him telling me that he'd let us rot in the brig the next time." Fia reminded him.

"Which is why we didn't let him find out about the other times," Eddie remarked.

"That is a _very _good point." She stood up to stretch her legs.

The feeling in her toe had started to spread up into her leg. The docs had told her that with another week of therapy, she'd be back to …_normal._ They'd decided to celebrate by exploring the parts of London that had already been rebuilt. It had…gotten a little out of hand when they found a statue to Shepard, the great hero of the reaper war, had already been _erected_.

_Damage to Alliance property._

_Defacing something or other._

_Vandalism._

_Such ugly, ugly words._

She'd stopped listening when the Captain who'd caught them got to the third or fourth charge on his list.

_Fucker._

"Don't we get a message or something?" Eddie wandered over to peek out the cell door.

"Who are _we _going to message?" Fia had no doubt that an angry Hackett would eventually bail them out. _She hoped._

"Major Coats."

_Oh yeah._

"Next time we get busted by the MPs, remind me to hide my omni-tool." She should've thought of Aidan before they confiscated the thing.

"The next time?" Eddie chuckled. "Let's see if we get the hell out of it this time."

"Maybe they'll court-martial me. But honestly, I thought the statue looked much better when we were finished with it." Fia grinned up at him and then turned towards the door when it opened to reveal, _Major Coats _who seemed to be trying very hard to keep a straight face_._ "He made me do it."

Aidan coughed rather loudly. "Let's go, you two."

"Yes, sir, Major Coats." Fia elbowed Eddie in the side before darting out of the cell. She winked at Aidan before following him down the hall and out into the fresh, free air.

"Are you three going somewhere?" Hackett was waiting for them at the foot of the steps.

_Damn._

"To hell in a hand-basket?" She suggested helpfully.

"_Ofelia." _Her dad did not seem…pleased.

"I…sorry." Fia motioned for Eddie and Aidan to make a quick escape before heading carefully down the stairs towards Hackett. She placed a hand on his arm and led him towards a nearby park. She waited until they found a bench to sit on before speaking again. "I don't really have an excuse. It's not Eddie's fault. I just saw the Shepard statue thing and…lost it."

Hackett draped an arm across her shoulders. "Was it satisfying?"

"Oh yea." She still didn't feel a damn bit of guilt over it. "I've been thinking."

Her dad clutched his hand to his chest. "I think I'm having a heart attack."

"Dad." She elbowed him in the side.

"Sorry, just preparing for the inevitable," he smiled.

"I'm leaving the Alliance. I saw the report that the doctor sent you. The feeling in my leg might be back, but it's never going to be one hundred percent. If I have to take a PT test, we both know that I'll fail." Fia used her biotics to play with the leaves on the ground in front of them. "There are plenty of jobs available here in London. I can do something…useful."

"How did you see that report? It was for my eyes only." Her dad ignored the important stuff and focused on that instead. _Typical._

"Eddie's apparently very charming." Fia neglected to mention that Eddie had only been the distraction. She'd been the one to _borrow_ the report from the doctor's office. "Is that really all you have to say?"

"Are you staying in London because of Major Coats?"

"No, he's an added bonus." She hadn't really thought about what Aidan's feelings would be. "So…consider this my resignation?"

"The MP's will be delighted to hear that." His hand tightened on her shoulder. "I'm proud of you, kid. Aside from the multiple visits to the brig, you're a damn good soldier. I might have an idea for a job for you, if you're interested."

She blinked away tears for a moment before catching something that he had said. "What do you mean _multiple _visits?"

"Did you really think they wouldn't tell _Admiral Hackett_ that his daughter had been tossed into the brig? I got a report every damn time." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"But? You never said anything." Fia felt completely confused. He'd never mentioned it…or yelled at her for it.

"I was tempted to mention it until Major…well Captain Atwell at the time pointed out that he seemed to remember another _Hackett_ having a few run-ins with the MPs during his younger years." He stood up and held his hand out to help her up then draped his arm around her shoulder again. "It was never for anything serious, so I figured you deserved to make a few mistakes without me yelling at you every time"

"That's the nicest thing you've ever said." Fia grinned up at him. "So what's this job offer?"

"We've got a lot of biotic children that don't have a Grissom Academy to go to yet. Kahlee Sanders asked me if you'd be interested in helping out with some of their training here in London until they've rebuilt the school." Hackett stopped in front of the Kodiak. "Think about it. You've got another week before you're officially released from the hospital."

"Me? Teach children?" Fia scratched her jaw. "Do they want the next generation of biotics to be _complete_ deviants?"


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**The poem listed below is from an unknown author.**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

_Fucking bastard._

Fia had been medically cleared. She'd gotten herself temporary housing and she had a job. These were all good things. Major Coats had been temporarily assigned to Vancouver. And Fia was going to kill her father the next time she saw him. She waited until the end of the week before heading to his _new_ offices on the Citadel.

The handy beam that connected London with the Citadel had been left in place. No one had figured out how the hell to move the Citadel back to where it had been before, so it was now just a shuttle ride away. His secretary told her that he'd already gone to his apartment. She found her dad on the couch watching old vids. He was so entranced that he didn't hear her enter.

She stood silently behind him while vids from her childhood played. It was like a highlight reel of all the important moments in her life. Graduations, the academy, all of it. As the daughter of a high-ranking, high-profile Alliance soldier, ANN had taken great pleasure in reporting on certain parts of her life. It had annoyed her when she was younger. _Fuck_. It still aggravated the hell out of her. She knew that she should let him know that she was there but…

_This is Iris Dunnigan reporting for the Alliance News Network. Lieutenant Ofelia Hackett will be officially laid to rest this afternoon in a public memorial service. The Lieutenant went missing several months ago while on a top-secret mission. While her body has not been found, my sources tell me that she was declared killed in action over a week ago._

_Lieutenant Hackett is the only child of Admiral Steven Hackett. Rumors surrounding her disappearance have been building for weeks. The Alliance had made no official statements regarding any of it. Admiral Hackett is expected to make a brief speech at the service. Attempts to reach the admiral for comment were rejected. We will bring live feed from the memorial later today._

It was surreal. She glanced down when Hackett fast-forwarded through some of the reports but her eyes went back to the screen when she heard his voice.

"_It was tempting to allow others to speak for me today. A grieving father is allowed…" He paused to clear his throat. "I wouldn't do my daughter any justice if I shied away from speaking the one time that she can't interrupt. The difficulties of being an Admiral who loses a soldier under his command pales in comparison to the loss of a daughter, and it's a pain that I don't think will ever go away."_

_The Hackett on the vid took a few deep breathes before continuing. "If you knew Fia, then you knew how frustratingly funny she could be. She was in trouble every moment of every day. Yet somehow, she always managed to make everyone involved laugh. She loved with every part of herself. My daughter was a fighter, an Alliance soldier through and through. And not because her father wanted her to be one."_

_There was another long pause._

"_I don't know who the author of this poem was…but…it seemed to say what I felt last night as I considered the fact that there would be no more reports from angry officers telling me that my daughter had gotten herself into trouble again._

_So go and run free with the angels  
Dance around the golden clouds  
For the lord has chosen you to be with him  
And we should feel nothing but proud  
Although he has taken you from us  
And our pain a lifetime will last  
Your memory will never escape us  
But make us glad for the time we did have  
Your face will always be hidden  
Deep inside our hearts  
Each precious moment you gave us  
Shall never, ever depart  
So go and run free with the angels  
As they sing so tenderly  
And please be sure to tell them  
To take good care of you for me"_

_When the poem ended, he cleared his throat again before saying, "I find that I have nothing left to say."_

The vid ended. Fia brushed away the tears and looked down to see her dad leaned over with his face buried in his hands.

"Dad?" She walked around to sit next to him on the couch. With her arm wrapped around him, she leaned her head against his back since he was still hunched over. "You ok?"

"You are supposed to be teaching children in London." He sat up and she moved to the side to avoid being crushed.

"I was coming to yell at you. Thanks for taking away the desire, bastard." Fia sighed dramatically. "Nice speech."

"Doctor T'soni has been going through some of the files from the mining facility where you were found. Now that the reapers are gone, we're wanting to find out everything we can about Leviathan." Hackett reached down to take her hand in his.

"Ok?"

"Do you remember having any brief moments of lucidity during the six years that you were there?" His eyes met hers and she hesitated. "You do remember, why didn't you say anything?"

She shrugged, "They were very, very brief moments. How the hell did she find out?"

"You apparently attempted to send me a message at one point about three years ago. It never made it out of course." Hackett squeezed her hand tightly.

"I need a drink." She stood up to quickly, and her leg seized for a moment. _Fucking thing_. It did it about once a day, if she'd been walking too much. She dropped back down beside him. "You should go get us a drink."

He shook his head with a laugh before heading over to get them a drink. Fia used the distraction to send a quick message to both Major Coats and Commander Stevens. If she was going to be on the Citadel, they might as well join her and have a little fun.

"Do _not_ get arrested by C-Sec." Her dad was watching from the kitchen.

"Who me?"

"Am I mistaken or did you not just send two messages to two Alliance officers?" He walked over with two beers in his hands.

"No clue what you're talking about." She snagged one of the bottles out of his hand. "Hey Dad?"

"Yes?" He sat back down next to her.

"I love you." She leaned her head against his arm. "But I'm not guaranteeing that I won't end up engaging in…shenanigans."


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**The poem listed below is from an unknown author.**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

Fia wandered around the Presidium Commons, deep in thought. Eddie had been delayed but would arrive on the Citadel in a day or two, as would Major Coats. It gave her a couple of days of free time. She'd been thinking about her dad. Technically, back on Earth, today was Father's Day. She wanted to do something special for him.

_It shouldn't be that hard._

_She was a biotic…biotics eat a lot…how hard could cooking be?_

_Very_.

She stood in Hackett's now completely wrecked kitchen looking at a burnt chocolate cake with a mixture of dismay and amusement. The kitchen was covered in flour, hell, _she_ was covered in fucking flour. She grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and sank down on the floor with her back against the bottom cabinets. She should clean the mess up before he got home.

_Beer first._

_Cleaning later._

This was why three hours later when Hackett walked into his apartment, he found his daughter on her back covered in flour with at least three bottles of beer around her on the kitchen floor.

"Ofelia?" He crouched beside her.

"I baked a cake." She gestured towards the counter almost smacking him in the head. "It got burnt. I had beer. Beer is much tastier than burnt fucking cake."

"Why were you baking a cake?" Her dad grabbed her arm and helped her sit up.

"Father's Day."

"What?"

"It's Father's Day, on Earth, today." She shrugged like that explained everything.

"Father's Day? You were baking a cake for me?" Hackett frowned down at her.

"I can't cook…or bake." She glanced down at the empty bottles."I can drink though."

"You baked a cake for me?"

"Have you been drinking on the job, Admiral?" Fia focused her attention on him. She was pleasantly buzzed. "Yes, I tried and failed to bake you a cake. I'll clean up the mess, I promise. Can I buy you dinner instead?"

She cleaned up the mess in the kitchen and herself fairly quickly once he'd headed up to his room for a few minutes. The cake had not been her best idea. She paced in the living room trying to think of something better. Something better than another damn coffee mug, he had a row of them in the kitchen from her. She was looking around the spare bedroom that she used when she found a crate that had _'Fia's stuff' _scrawled on top.

Dragging the box over to the bed, she tossed the lid aside and looked inside. It was filled with stuff from her old apartment, before she disappeared. Her dad must have kept all of it. There were vid discs, books, random shit and then at the bottom, she found the perfect gift for him. It was a metal chest that was locked.

_A treasure chest._

_Well, more of time capsule._

_It was filled with memories and souvenirs that she'd saved since she was little._

"I was going to send that to you for your new apartment." Her dad stepped into the room. "I never did figure out how to open that."

_It was the perfect gift._

She beckoned him over. "The code is your birthday."

He pulled the box over and entered the code. "Why my birthday?"

"You'll see." Fia lifted the lid. "I started collecting all of this when I was nine."

"This is all…" Hackett held up the first of several digital scrapbooks that contained ANN articles about him, photos of the two of them. He set them side and pulled out one of his old hats; it had several holes through it.

"Target practice." She took the hat and poked her finger through the hole. "It was Eddie's idea. You were so pissed."

Her dad chuckled when she put the hat on her head backwards. "I wasn't pissed about the hat. I was pissed that three children were using a pistol."

"I'll have you know that I was a crack-shot." She grinned at him.

"Where the hell…" He pulled out one of his medals.

"You threw it out," she shrugged.

It was one of his medals from the First Contact War. He'd been angry about something one evening and tossed it in the trash. She'd waited until he went to bed and taken it back out. There were stupid things like concert tickets and old posters in the chest. Then he found something that she'd actually forgotten was in there.

_Shit._

It was from an assignment that she'd had to write while she was at the Academy. The topic of the paper had been to discuss the role of leadership in the Alliance. They'd been told to either pick a specific person or in general. Fia had chosen to write about her dad. She'd never shown him the essay; in fact, she'd made a point to ask her professor _not_ to show it to him. She could remember very damn word of that essay. It had started with a quote from a former President, Harry Truman.

_Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better._

Fia didn't want him to read the essay. It felt too personal. But he pushed her hands away when she tried to grab the datapad from him. So she watched him read it. She could tell when he got to the end of the essay.

_The true test of a leader is the care that they provide to those dependent on their decisions. A commanding officer needs to be able to be trusted not to exploit weaknesses in others but find a way to turn those weaknesses into strengths. Admiral Steven Hackett has throughout his career provided a clear example for others to follow of how to guide without fear or intimidation. He demonstrates great patience in the face of extreme obstacles. He is the bench mark that any Alliance officer should strive for._

"Why didn't you want me to see this?" He asked when he'd finally finished reading it.

"Hero worship is an embarrassing thing to admit," she shrugged.

"Hero?" Hackett didn't seem to know how to respond.

"Don't let it go to your head." She grinned at him. "Oh and, Happy Father's Day."

"Thanks, kid." He pulled her into a hug.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever. **

Fia stood on the second floor of the Alliance offices on the Citadel. She could see her dad on the first floor in a meeting with a few other Admirals. She used her biotics to shift the datapads on the table in front of them. _Just a little_. Enough that they noticed, but not enough that they realized someone was doing it.

"A little to the left, Little One," Eddie leaned against the railing beside her.

"Or the right, I'm sure Hackett won't notice." Aidan stood on her other side.

She got a little flustered and ended up knocking the datapad into the glass of water in a front of her father over and into his lap. "Shit."

_Bolt_ was too mild of a word for what the three of them did. They didn't stop until they'd reached the Silversun Strip. Fia voted that they head to the arcade. But the moment that Eddie noticed that Shepard's name was at the top of the leader board for the Arena, there was no distracting either man. So they headed inside to sign up and form a team.

An hour later and three rounds later, Fia was ducking behind a wall to avoid an incoming rocket. They might be simulation that they were fighting, but the bullets still fucking hurt. She was putting her foot down when this round was over. Her leg wasn't up for the level of work-out that it was getting. She heard an incoming phantom and dodged around the corner.

And then her leg seized up, she hit the ground and rolled to the right to avoid the sword. The phantom exploded a moment later from a bullet that she hadn't fired. Major Coats knelt beside her a second afterwards.

"You ok, Mini-Hackett?" He helped her to her feet but her leg wasn't supporting her. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I tried; you two idiots were too focused on beating Shepard's score that you ignored me." She glared at him and then smacked him on the arm. "Idiots. Utter idiots. Like I want to spend the first time that I've seen you in weeks fighting Cerberus in the Arena?"

Coats shot an incoming trooper then lifted her up and behind a wall. "Do you have a better idea, Fia?"

"Maybe." She smirked before firing at another trooper.

They did manage to beat Shepard's score. Aidan had to keep an arm around her waist to help her limp out of the Arena. Eddie came up on her other side to provide additional support. They made it a few steps before coming to a halt in front of a very unhappy Admiral Hackett.

_Shit._

"Hi Dad." She grinned at him. "Did you change your uniform?"

"Someone was playing with their biotics again." He gave her a pointed stare.

"No idea what you're talking about. We've been beating Shepard's score in the arena." She smiled innocently.

"You let her fight when she's barely been medically cleared to walk?" Hackett's ire was immediately focused on Coats and Stevens.

"We…"

"You _will_ help her up to my apartment and then you _will_ let her rest her leg." Hackett glared at the three of them. "That was an order, gentlemen. Move your asses."

* * *

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: Citadel_

_From: Fia_

_To: Aidan_

_22:33 F: Where are you?_

_22:34 A: In bed, why?_

_22:36 F: Helpful. Where specifically on the Citadel?_

_22:38 A: Why?_

_22:39 F: I need to talk to you…in person._

_22:41 A: Sending you the coordinates._

_22:42 User has disconnected._

* * *

Fia didn't sneak out of her dad's apartment. She was a grown-ass woman. She didn't need to sneak out. She just happened to tip-toe very quietly out the door in case she woke him up because it was more considerate. That was her story and she was sticking to it.

"So what can I do for you this late in the evening, Mini-Hackett?" Aidan stood in the doorway waiting for her when she walked towards him.

"I've been waiting months to finish what we almost started that time we went out on patrol and fell in the fucking river." She moved past him into his room.

"Are you _medically_ cleared for that sort of behavior?" He smirked at her.

"I'm really tired of waking up with nothing but a damn pillow for company." Fia grinned back at him. "Consider yourself an over-sized teddy bear."

"Do I look soft and furry?" He grabbed her by the hand and led her into his bedroom.

"We haven't even been on a first date, so I'm not _sleeping_ with you, but I am sleeping with you." She eased back on his bed to kick her shoes off. "Fuck my leg hurts."

Aidan sat on the edge of the bed. His hands moved to gently massage her leg once she'd pulled her pants off. The haze of pain faded slowly and without meaning to, she drifted off to sleep.

_This dream seriously sucked._

_Why was there so much noise?_

Her eyes opened to find a very nice muscular chest; she looked up to see Aidan in the process of waking up as well. The familiar beep of an incoming hail sounded from their omni-tools _and_ his vid-comm. The banging from her dream appeared to be a fist on the front door.

"I'll get it." She tumbled out of bed and pulled on _his_ shirt, mostly because she couldn't find hers or her jeans for that matter. She opened the door to find a _frantic_ Eddie. "What…"

"…the hell?" Eddie finished for her. "Shit, get back inside."

"What is your malfunction?" She grumbled when he tried to push her back inside the room.

"_Commander Stevens." _A familiar yell echoed in the hallway.

Eddie ducked behind her. "You are so busted."

"Are you seriously trying to hide your mountain of a body behind me?" She laughed at him.

"Ofelia Marie Hackett." _Admiral Hackett_ did not sound amused. "Where the…what are you wearing?"

"A t-shirt?" She glanced down at it. "Do I like I'm eighteen? Honestly. I can wake up in someone else's bed and as long as we're both consenting adults, you really don't get to be pissed off at me for it."

"Next time leave a damn note." He frowned first at her and then at something over her shoulder. "Major Coats."

"That's where my t-shirt went." Aidan ignored the Admiral completely to move Eddie out of the way and stand behind Fia.

"So breakfast…anyone hungry?" Eddie had apparently decided that an interruption was needed.

Fia couldn't stop laughing at the complete ridiculousness of the entire situation. "What exactly should the note say, dad?"


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**Thanks for the follows and reviews.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

_From: Fia_

_To: Dad_

_Subj: Note_

_Don't wait up. I'll be engaging in things you don't want to hear about._

_Also, I'm heading back to London in the morning, time to get back to teaching._

_Love you,_

_Fia_

* * *

"What are you doing, Mini-Hackett?" Aidan glanced over at her.

"Leaving a _note,"_ she grinned.

They were heading to Earth now, but her dad didn't need to know that. Aidan wanted to take her to one of his favorite restaurants in Dublin. With any luck, by the time _Admiral Hackett_ read the message, they'd be done in Dublin and already back in London. She leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her omni-tool.

A slight detour to the Alliance HQ in London had been necessary. She waited for Aidan outside the building. She was using her biotics to mess with one of the Alliance MPs stationed near the doors when fucking Shepard walked out of the building. Turning quickly away, she decided to head across the street to avoid him. She pulled up her omni-tool to tell Aidan that she'd meet him at the shuttle.

"Fia?"

She glanced over her shoulder to find Shepard. "Hey."

"Can we talk?" He looked exhausted.

She wandered along the street until she found a bench to sit on. "Talk."

"I miss you." Shepard sat beside her.

"And?" She frowned up at him. "Is that supposed to change my mind about everything? Why don't you except that it was actually ok for you to move on after six years? And I'm moving on now."

"Are you fucking him?" Shepard pointed towards Aidan who had just started out of the nearby building.

"Not yet." Fia stood up to move away from the Commander. If the two men met up, there would definitely be a fight. A firm hand on her arm stopped her mid-step. "Let go of me, Shepard."

"I just want to talk."

"We've talked…several times…nothing has changed. You can't go back in time and change things, so let it go." Her biotics flared briefly but he ignored them.

"I miss you…you're my best friend, damn it." Shepard tried to pull her into his arms. "You can't honestly tell me that you don't miss me."

"If I did miss you, Shepard, I'd be missing a lie." She raised her hands to push away from him.

"Commander Shepard." Aidan placed a hand on Fia's shoulder and gently eased her back. "I believe Admiral Hackett was fairly specific about his orders regarding you and his daughter."

"And I believe it's none of your damn business." Shepard started towards the Major.

_Shit._

Fia tried to get between the two of them but ended up shoved to the side. They were brawling in the street a moment later. She didn't think it would take long for the commotion to draw the attention of the MPs nearby. She tried to break the fight up a second time and ended up sitting on her ass on the ground when they accidently hit her leg and it locked up on her.

"That's fucking it." She raised her hands and her biotics flared. A moment later, both men were hovering just above the sidewalk frozen in stasis. "I've had enough of this bullshit."

The MPs chose that moment to show up, of course, so instead of Major Coats or Commander Shepard being hauled off to the fucking brig. Fia found herself once again in trouble. She tried to explain that it wasn't her fault, and since she was technically retired, the fuckers didn't' have jurisdiction over her.

"You get one call on the vid-comm, make it count." The annoyed Commander in charge shoved her in front of the comm.

"Ofelia?" Her dad answered after a few minutes. "Why are you in the brig?"

"Would you believe it wasn't my fault?" She asked.

"No."

"Well, for once, it actually wasn't my fault." Fia glared at him. "Any chance you're heading to Earth?"

"I'll be there in an hour. You can sit in the brig until I get there." He ignored her huff of annoyance. "Hackett out."

"Damn it," she complained. "It's cheating when he does that."


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N:**

**Bioware owns All…except for Ofelia Hackett, that's my character. Lol**

**This is the last chapter for this story. I'm slowly moving over to a different site for most of my stories. (AO3 – Archive of our own)**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Follow. Favorite. I'll love you forever and ever.**

Fia sat with her back against the wall throwing biotic clouds into the air. It was something that she'd figured out how to do as a kid when she was bored. They dissipated fairly quickly but it kept her entertained. She had three of them floating when her dad walked in to the cell.

"Major Coats and Commander Shepard met me the minute that I stepped off of the shuttle. They were anxious to tell me that this wasn't actually your fault." He took a seat beside her on the floor. "Is your leg injured?"

"Sore, but no more than it is every day," she shrugged. "Damn thing. I'm never going to get used to it locking up on me."

He held out his arm. "Need a hand up?"

"In a minute." She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Dad? Do you remember when we went to Elysium for my birthday?"

"It's ingrained in my mind." He tilted so his head was resting against the top of hers. "You got lost."

"Not lost, just temporarily misplaced," Fia corrected.

"Call it what you want, I spent four terrified hours trying to find you." Hackett shook his head. "Are you feeling lost, kid?"

"There's not much else to do but think in here." She gestured around her. "Think and play with biotics. You know, I haven't really stopped to think since I got my mind back after Shepard destroyed the Leviathan artifact thing. I lost six years of my life and in the few months since I've lost my fiancé, my mother and my career."

"What are you working up towards?" He tilted his head so that he could get a better look at her face.

"The teaching position was temporary. The new school is ready to open and I don't want to go to Grissom Academy as a teacher. I've turned the job down." Fia rested her hand on his shoulder and used it for leverage to stand up. "I'm…going away…an extended vacation."

"Where?" Her dad got to his feet.

"I don't know."

Fia followed him out of the cell where the MPs apologized for detaining her. She started to head towards her apartment; her dad grabbed her arm and guided her towards a nearby shuttle instead. It turned out to be a good thing because the first step that she took, her fucking leg locked up again and she almost tumbled down the stairs head first.

"Damn it," she muttered while leaning on his arm to keep upright. "I lied."

"Pardon?" He kept an arm around her to lift her down the rest of the steps.

"I already booked passage on a shuttle heading for Buenos Aires." Fia waited until they were inside the waiting Alliance Kodiak to answer him. "It leaves next week. I'll be gone for a month."

"Buenos Aires?"

Fia looked up at him. "I booked two tickets…in case…"

"In case what?" He crouched in front of her. "Fia?"

"You always promised to take me." She focused her gaze on her hands.

"You want me to go with you." Hackett seemed oddly confused by this.

"I could always take Aidan…or Eddie." Fia grinned at him.

"No."

"No, you can't go or?" She raised an eyebrow.

"No I will not spend my time bailing you two reprobates out of the brig. I'll take shore-leave and go with you," he clarified.

"Great. They're going to meet us there anyway." She chuckled when he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed loudly.


End file.
